Sacrifice
by phoenix catcher
Summary: Harry/Harper. Seer:Harry. Harry brings forth forces beyond his understanding to kill Voldemort and the Paradine moves him through time to atone for his mistakes, claiming his memories in the process. This is his story as he struggles with who he is.
1. A Twist

Sacrifice

Chapter 1; A Twist

Harry looked around him at the battle field. The stench of the dead was too great to even be natural but it was his eyes that he wished he could gouge out and his hands flinched ever so slightly in a nervous twitch as the temptation to cause damage to himself became ever so slightly greater. He pushed it aside and steadied his wand at the cause of all of this devastation.

There were only two living beings left on the blood soaked field. Himself and Tom Riddle and Harry knew then that his own sacrifice would be well worth it. Four thousand years ago an Ancient Seer had seen a vision of a great power, a god, that he then learnt to tap into to destroy his foes but the spell had killed the Seer and all those around him. Harry, Ron and Hermione had searched for a sure way to kill Voldemort regardless of the two remaining lost Horcruxes and Harry was willing to use it as a last resort.

Now everybody was dead and he no longer cared about what the god would demand of him after he cast the spell. Harry began chanting and Voldemort's eyes glared at him as he recognised the language, not for what it actually was but as a language that he didn't know. A spell smacked into Harry sending his wand flying across to Voldemort but Harry didn't care since he no longer needed it. The spell was taking the magic from his very core and would need most of it to complete itself. The next spell sliced a deep gash down Harry's chest but Harry barely flinched knowing that the god would probably demand his very life so it mattered very little how alive Harry was by the end of the spell.

The ground around Harry began to burn in strange black veined fire and the dirt itself seemed to burn along with the bodies that the fire touched. It ebbed around Harry like it was alive. Voldemort had never been curious and didn't particularly want to see what this spell would do so cast his favourite weapon in his arsenal. Green light flared across the battle field, the air rushed towards the spell as if it was being eaten by the Dark magic. Harry felt his core completely empty to complete his own spell and stared emotionlessly at the incoming magic.

The world around him flashed with fire and he found himself standing at the edge of a great cavern. Behind him and in entrances like his all around the cavern, strange furred bipedal creatures watched him. Creatures that seemed to want nothing more than to devour him while his heart still beat in his chest. In the centre was a pillar where a being of fire and shadow stood with arms raised. "You have called for me." The being told him. Harry fell to his knees in pain as the voice sounded not through the air but inside his head.

"Yes…" Harry gritted his teeth. "To kill Tom Riddle."

"You have potential." The being told him. "If I kill this man for you then you will agree to what?"

"Whatever you need." Harry didn't know what the being had meant by potential.

"Then it is done." The being told him solemnly. "The end of Tom Riddle for all eternity in return for your obedience for your life."

Harry's stared in horror. It wasn't going to let him die.

"Of course not!" The being told him evidently hearing all of his thoughts. "You have too much potential to simply ignore."

Harry found himself on his knees facing the oncoming Killing Curse but just as it was about to hit him the entire area was bathed in thick flames and Harry lost consciousness just after he heard Voldemort scream in pain. His body and every piece of his soul burnt into nothing.

Sixty-six million Light years away a power throbbed in anger as it felt its newest acquisition torn away from it.

XOXOXOXOXOXOXOX

Harry didn't know how long he drifted. It could have been minutes, hours, days or even years. He knew he'd been eighteen when the god had destroyed Voldemort for him but for all he knew he'd been drifting here for another eighteen years. The sphere he recognised as Earth spun slowly below him. The rest of his view was filled with stars and somehow he knew around his Galaxy there were others. And somehow he knew that the Earth below him wasn't his own. Not any longer.

The woman behind him spoke and Harry found himself unable to turn to look at her. How did you turn yourself when floating in space anyway? He had known she'd been there but he couldn't say for how long. "Very few would have done what you did all those years ago."

Harry was facing her now though he didn't know how. "Years ago?"

"For them it was years ago." She glanced down at the planet. She seemed to glow with a natural energy as she turned back to watch him. "For you it was just one step ago and this is yet another step."

"Where am I?" Harry asked. "Where's the God?"

"The abyss isn't a god for us." She told him. "The Abyss is upset that you will not be accepting his agreement just yet."

"I made an agreement." Harry told her. "One I will gladly see through if it means the end of Tom Riddle."

"These people," She gestured down at the Earth, "know nothing of Tom Riddle and magic has long since been replaced by technology. We are not yet done with you and until we are there is nothing the Abyss can force you to do. And we will not permit you to join with him willingly."

"What are you?" Harry asked.

"We are Paradine, as you would have become if your mother hadn't allowed herself to die so early or if you had accepted your fate like you should have." She told him sternly. "You wont remember this life for the time being and we're giving you a second chance to prove yourself."

"How can I prove myself if I don't know what is happening?" Harry asked her.

She was gone. Harry stared at the Earth for a moment before he too disappeared.

XOXOXOXOXOXOXOX

He woke with a mouth full of sand and tried to roll over to breathe properly and found himself blinded by a bright sun.

"This guy's still alive." A voice spoke up though he didn't think it was aimed at him. "Hey, kid, you still alive?"

A foot kicked him over without care and there was a short intake of breath as whoever it was recoiled. He groaned and tried to move but only felt pain. "Kyle!" Another voice snapped. "If he's alive just tranquillise him and get him to the med bay. He's worth more alive!"

He saw the man raise an arm and then felt a sharp pain in his neck before he fell asleep with only one thought. 'Who am I?'

XOXOXOXOXOXOX

The next time he awoke his view was disrupted by several horizontal bars but he was still out in the open under the heat. His skin felt sore and hot probably from the sun but somehow he knew just how to ignore that pain. He tried to assess his situation. _'So I don't know who I am, where I am, how I got here.'_ He frowned. _'What do I know?'_

He looked around him trying to find some clues. A plaque on the side of his cage read, 'Slave Zero-Eight. Total amnesia-low chance of recall.' So he knew that amnesia was when you forget everything you ever knew and he obviously still knew how to read. He also knew that being a slave was bad. Very bad.

"Right, Zero Eight!" A loud clang startled him and he was hunched inside his little box before he knew what he was doing. He twisted to what was evidently the door as it was swung open. Two sets of arms reached in and yanked him out. He went limp before he realised what he was doing.

'Always make enemies underestimate your strength.' He realised instinctively as the four mean looking men hauled him across a courtyard full of cages similar to his own. Other scared faces stared at him through open doors. Some held sympathy for him, others looked envious. He spied a large set of double doors and decided that that was the exit. He let all of his weight drop onto the two men and they staggered at the sudden change in balance. Before they could readjust he took all of his weight and spun around low to the ground. He knocked his two captors to the ground and knocked them out with a sharp blow to their necks that he didn't even know he was capable of. One held some sort of metallic item in his hand and he grabbed it.

__

'If you don't know what it is supposed to do point it at somebody that's threatening you. It's better to try it on them.' The lecture seemed genuine and he twisted his grip awkwardly and pulled the small trigger on the base. He knew what triggers were for. A red blast shot from the device and hit the first man. He stared at the device in shock and would have thrown it away in shock if the other guy hadn't brought up a crackling stick. He fired again and heard weak cheers erupt around him. A man moved through the cages to his right and he crouched, spun and fired without a second thought. The man collapsed as the shot hit him in the chest.

"Get out while you can!" A man in a cage no more than two feet from him yelled and he came to his senses. He ran full pelt towards the doors but just as he was about to reach it two small devices like snakes detached from the walls on either side and he felt himself being thrown backwards onto the ground by two blasts of what looked like lightning. Somebody yanked the killing device from his hand and he felt himself being lifted.

XOXOXOXOXOXOXOX

He came around again to find himself held firmly on his knees by two very irritated looking men. In front of him was a large desk and two more men sitting on either side. "If you're sure you want this one?" The man on the far side asked.

"I saw what he did out there. He obviously has hidden talents even if he doesn't know what they are." The second man assured him. "I'll find that out eventually. Proper precautions can easily prevent something like this happening again."

"Like I said, I'm doubling my price."

"And I've already matched that." The second man assured the first.

__

'Wait!' He thought to himself._ 'They're selling me!' _He struggled against his captors before feeling something sharp under his chin. He stilled and realised that one of his captors had placed an arm under his head and that pieces of bone where pushing up at his chin.

"See, it just takes the right kind of threats." His apparently new owner boasted.

"You do realise we took him out of a downed cargo ship. He was down on the roster as a new security specialist but there was no name listed." The first man told the other calmly. "But since he's the soul survivor we can't exactly check out if that's true or not. He's got a new scar on his chest from the accident but other than that he's healthy. No other scars or major illnesses or wounds."

"Good. We'll just have to call him Zero Eight for the time being." He latched onto the name with something akin to determination. One day he'd come back here and he wanted to be able to rub that designation-name in their faces before they died.

He felt a bubble of disgust and hate rise within him that he knew was from more than just his recent encounters.

XOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOX

****

Four years later

Zero crouched low to the ground miles from where he should have been, watching the town he had only ever seen twice before. He was the fighter-hacker slave extraordinaire and the only reason he wasn't famous, according to his 'Master', was because he was being kept a secret, otherwise people would try to kidnap him and avert his 'loyalty' for their own ends. Zero had been very careful over the years. For months after his selling off he had struggled with constant food and sleep deprivation with the occasional beating if he misbehaved. After he had given up trying to run they had implanted an explosive device just under the skin on his back set to go off if it wasn't reset every twenty-four hours.

After that he had been tested in almost everything to find out what he was good at. Supposedly other than loss of self he hadn't lost much to his amnesia. His skills were still there. He was a crack shot with any weapon and could beat even the Nietzschean guards of the household he was a slave to. His underfed body was kept fitter than the other slaves so he could earn money for the household on the missions they sent him on. His last skill which they had given him free range on and even spent a lot of money developing was his 'computer programmer' skills. They had brought brand new or second hand computer systems for him to study and learn from and let him play with the ships that his Master and his family owned. Nowadays Harry could even hack the weaker AI systems. He'd been given a second implant at great cost to his Master and the silver port in his neck meant he could uplink his own mind to a computer so that he didn't have to carry around the larger equipment to work.

His life hadn't been peachy though. The guards hated him because their Master hated to see him brought too low. Only because of his loss if he died rather than from any form of concern. He lived with a small family of slaves in what could almost be called a hut inside the house Slave pen and the thirty year old woman Calamy doted on Zero because of what was expected of him. Normally his Master would break up such familial ties but Zero knew that it helped to ensure he didn't try to escape. Several hints had been made about what would happen to Calamy, twenty five year old Joseph and ten year old Izus if he ran away.

Over the years he had mostly been sent to hunt prize beasts for his Master, sometimes simply guiding and protecting the family and their friends on their hunts and sometimes doing the hunting himself and letting the animals be claimed by his Master and his family. Many a times his Master had boasted and taken the credit in the town about his own ability to kill rare and dangerous creatures without ever mentioning that Zero was the one to actually do it and that he normally did it with nothing more than a knife and the single energy pistol he was sometimes given to ensure he himself wasn't eaten.

Twice though they had put his computer programming skills to use. Once he had been snuck about a ship with a valuable cargo with orders to circumvent their control over the ship, vent the air to kill the crew and then guide the ship to rendezvous with one of the family's own cargo ships. Zero had gotten his revenge for that one though by programming a secondary program into the virus he had created that would create a natural looking slipstream accident which had destroyed the newly captured ship as soon as Zero had been safely returned to his 'home.'

The second time had been slightly less dangerous to himself but far more profitable for the family. He'd actually done it from his Master's own cargo fleet's flagship. He'd hacked into and planted a control virus in a missile satellite system in the planet's orbit giving sole control of the planet's defences to his Master. After that his Master had more or less controlled everything on the planet that could be destroyed by those missiles…namely everything.

The memories of his punishments over the last four years were the worst thing though and now his 'family' couldn't be there for him. He couldn't always find the prey that his Master's family wanted and he couldn't always successfully bring back the carcass his Master wanted to take credit for killing and that always led to punishments ranging from starvation, isolation, whipping and though it had only happened once, Rape. The Master had been gone for a few weeks and his son had been placed in charge of the slaves. When Zero had been unable, or rather unwilling, to use his viruses to spy on a girl in the town that the Master's son had wanted for so long, Harry had been given to his Master's son's friend to rape and punish.

Zero had refused to say a word since and had been punished for that too but his Master had relented that enough punishment had been given and had accepted Zero's unwillingness to speak for the last year. Last week though had been the last straw for Zero though. One of the guards had raped his little sister, Izus, and Zero had lost it and killed the Nietzschean man. His Master couldn't afford to lose him so had killed his mother Calamy and sold Joseph and Izus to an off world slaver. Thus removing anyone for Zero to stay here to protect.

That was his Master's first mistake. The second had been letting Zero slip away with his own ready-to-go viruses. He'd copied them and as Zero crouched just outside of town the main stash would be self deleting themselves. Unfortunately there was nothing that could be done about the virus in place on the planetary missile satellites but he could stop it from permitting anyone to target him.

The third mistake was his Master's greed. Almost twenty hours ago his Master had sent Zero to find and kill the only Crey Wolf in this area but Harry hadn't even tried and had headed straight for the town.

Zero studied the outskirts of the town and more importantly the two ships settled on either side. The first held the look of one of one of his Master's cargo ships, or slave haulers. The second was larger but still looked rather old but he liked that look. It meant comfy and well cared for. He didn't recognise it and decided to take his chances with it.

He was tempted to sneak onto his Master's ship and plant his self-destruct device which was programmed to space the crew - vent the air - and then take any measures needed to destroy the ship. It would even target a friendly ship to destroy it as well as itself. Zero decided that his own escape would be better than being caught for a little bit of revenge. One day he'd come back here and kill his Master, free the slaves, and then destroy the slavers here. That however was a little beyond his skill set at the moment, plus he'd need a really cool ship.

Zero's last concern was his implants though. He'd already wiped the tracer on his computer implant, that had been done months ago along with a defensive virus designed to prevent any intrusion into his brain through computers if he was captured by somebody. His explosive implant was more of a concern however, in four hours it would explode taking his upper torso and head with it. He reached for the knife and began the gruelling task of blindly cutting it out.

He snuck around town and up to the locked down ship with ease. Now was the more difficult bit, accessing a locked down ship. He climbed the landing strut and up the actual ship onto the top of the hull and along to the small personnel hatch. He slipped a small plastic case from his pocket and pulled out a small data chip that he inserted into the bottom of the access panel which was in turn protected by a solid door that opened for anyone. The small control panel beeped to show that access was denied but after a few more moments it beeped a happier tone and Zero removed his data chip and hit the release. The door sunk in slightly before parting to slide into the hull and he dropped down onto the ladder. He shut the outer door and sighed in irritation as he saw the access panel for the equaliser controls and inner door. He could let his virus handle the inner door controls but he'd have to equalise the chamber first by himself. He crouched down to the floor and yanked open a control panel. He pulled out the data cable for the access panel and plugged it into his implant and put up with the few moments of disorientation as he was unceremoniously uplinked to the ships computer.

He set to work for the next hour breaking through the access codes to allow him entry, actually equalise the chamber and then remove any record of his presence within the computer core. Making sure that none of the cameras would record anything but empty corridors and rooms for the next hour. Hopefully that would be enough time to get himself hidden.

Luckily there was only one person on the ship, puttering around in the rather small medical bay which also seemed to be her cabin, but he wasted a few minutes simply staring at her in shock. She was purple and had a tail and moved with a grace he'd never seen before. Whoever she was she didn't notice him as he slipped away and eventually Zero found a small cubby hole to hide in which had a small data point that he could always tap into if he needed to. He didn't hold any illusions about being able to stay hidden for long. This ship - the Eureka Maru - was well looked after and undoubtedly her crew knew everything about her, every small crack and little shadowed corner. If they actually started looking for him they'd find him. Hopefully he'd be in space by that point.

Right now he needed to sleep since he hadn't in over two days and after the pain of cutting into his own back caught up with him he fell asleep propped up against the wall.

XOXOXOXOXOXOXOX

****

Four hours later

Humming brought him into wakefulness as the ship's engines came to life. The hull began to vibrate and the sound of the cargo bay's main doors closing told him that they were soon to leave. Zero smiled the first smile in a week and relaxed against the wall.

Fifteen minutes later he felt the ship leave the ground and the artificial gravity shifted as it compensated for the ship's angle as it arched upwards for space. Harry felt it shift again and guessed that they had arrived in space. Footsteps made him curl up against the wall and he could just see a man as he walked passed. He was about Zero's height, slightly shorter than average though in this man's case Zero thought it was natural whereas with Zero it was lack of food. He was well built but slim wearing low hung trousers and a well fitting t-shirt. Spiky blond highlighted hair and kind eyes made up the ensemble and Zero felt himself calm ever so slightly.

He turned slightly and Zero spied the computer implant in his neck and tensed again in an instant. The chances of having his presence detected just increased dramatically, assuming the man actually had it installed to make him even better rather than having it installed to bring him up to par. "Beka." The man spoke into his wrist radio as he came to a halt at the corridor junction near to Zero. "You should probably see this."

__

"I'm kinda busy right now. Some idiot on the surface is saying they want to check the ship for a stowaway." A woman's voice, presumably Beka, came back through the tiny speaker.

"That might not be a bad idea." The man said forgetting any plan to walk to wherever he had originally planned. "Someone accessed the top hatch while we were out."

__

"Do we have a picture?" She asked.

"No, the records don't even show it happening. But this is me we're talking about. The system backs itself up every fifteen minutes, so I have proof it was done." The man said rather arrogantly and Zero almost groaned. If he'd downloaded one of his virus like he normally did it would have found and reported the presence of a recent backup. "Whoever it was must have accessed the core computers to do it and I bet they didn't just do it for fun."

__

"Harper, I want to know exactly what he did to my ship." Beka told him. _"Rev, try and find him."_

"Already on it." The voice that came back was rougher than any Zero had ever heard.

"What are you going to do?" Harper asked.

__

"Stall for time until we find out if he's here, but if we don't find him soon we'll report it to the surface."

"You're going to report it?" Harper sounded shocked. "That's kinda strange for you, boss."

__

"Remember those missile satellites? Well they're controlled by the person claiming that his son has stowed away." Zero felt his blood boil at the insinuation that he was related to that scum. Obviously his Master hadn't claimed him to be a slave since a lot of cargo runners didn't agree with slavery and wouldn't help. The question was whether these were that kind or not. Zero decided to not take the chance. He pulled out one of his smart viruses and plugged it into the data access point and typed the start code into the access panel to upload it into the Eureka Maru's computer. It would search their navigation computer and pick a random system, head at full power to the nearest safe Slipstream point and activate the Slipstream engines. It was then the crew's choice whether to pilot the ship through Slipstream, or get lost or destroyed there.

"Why would his son run away?" Harper asked as Zero stood and slipped out his knife.

__

"Who knows and who cares." Beka responded. _"I'm not getting my ship blown up for some kid."_

"He must have a reason for running away. Could he have legitimate reason to want to escape?" The new voice matched what Zero would guess would come from the purple alien. He heard concern for his own health in her voice and was surprised since he had only ever heard that tone from Calamy and Joseph.

__

"Well we know that guy isn't particularly nice." Beka pointed out just as Zero made his move. He slipped from the shadows and around behind Harper bringing the knife up to rest against his throat. Harper went suddenly very still.

Zero couldn't find it in himself to speak just like he hadn't for the last year. He hated talking to people. With the exception of Calamy, Joseph and Izus nobody had heard his voice in a year since Zero had no idea how they would treat him and through disuse it really hurt to use it.

__

"Harper, are you still there?" Beka asked over the radio. _"Harper, god damn you, we've got an unknown onboard. Stay in contact!"_

She sounded particularly worried and with the ease that Zero was holding him that proved that he really wasn't a fighter. _"Harper!"_ She sounded really worried and Zero loosened his grip and moved the knife slightly away from the skin to tell the man that he could respond.

"Beka!" His voice cracked slightly. "I found him."

__

"Bring him up here then." She told him sounding very relieved.

"By found, I really mean he found me."Harper told her. "And I can't really go anywhere without his permission."

__

"Why don't you ask him to bring you up here then?" Beka asked. Zero scoffed in amusement and tightened his grip.

"I don't think he likes that idea." Harper told her with sarcasm lacing his voice.

"I'd let him go now, if I were you." A deep gravely voice spoke from just behind him and Zero groaned ever so slightly. He tilted back his head to look at the ceiling and held the knife loosely to the side. He felt a firm grip twist the knife from his hand and he stepped back and turned slightly to face the one called Rev. He felt his heart rate speed up as he flinched violent at the sight of the 'creature'. It's red robe only just covered the fact it was furred and the clawed hand holding his knife only kept his attention away from the brutal looking face for a split second. It was a monster. Harper darted away behind the alien even as Zero's eyes. It was a shame his Master hadn't deemed it necessary to provide him with a pistol today for his hunt or he could have shot the thing. "Let's go." It's teeth showed clear as it spoke and Zero backed away a half step ready for anything.

He growled as he tipped his head towards the end of the corridor and his fists flexed in preparation against any attack from Zero.

"Uh…Beka." Harper spoke up again. "Rev has him, we'll bring him up."

__

"Good, we can ask him what he did to my ship." She sounded rather malicious about the idea but Zero just allowed himself to be led peacefully.

They led him through passageways and up towards where he guessed the Bridge was. They found two people there. A woman with blond hair and a rather tight fitting top and waistcoat sat in the control seat and the purple lady from the medical bay now wearing something close to a formal dress stood at the side of the room.

The lady, probably Beka, stood and rounded on them as they entered the room. "So this is our stowaway?"

"Hmm." Rev grumbled at her simply.

"What have you done to my ship?" Beka asked. Zero just watched her as she gestured for Harper to look at all of the computers in the room. "Who are you?"

Seeing no reason not to answer this one, Zero waved at his throat. "You can't speak?" The purple alien asked. Zero just shrugged since he didn't want to admit that it was by choice even though he didn't think that his voice still worked particularly well.

"I don't believe that." Beka said simply. "Your name. Now!" A clawed hand settle on his shoulder but Zero had been intimidated worse than that before even if not by such a creature.

It took a few attempts and a lot of pain but he eventually got his voice to work. "Zero." He said eventually succeeding against the damage done from his screaming while being raped and through disuse afterwards. He'd never been properly healed since he'd never admitted to the damage. With his 'family' he had always stuck to whispering and hand signals to express himself. This small effort caused tears to creep into his eye but he pushed them down.

"Zero what?" Harper asked looking up at him. They were all looking at him but only Harper and the purple alien were looking at him in concern.

"I think that's his name." Beka frowned.

"Or designation." Rev suggested and Zero tensed.

"That would explain things." Beka admitted and walked forwards towards him. The clawed hand on his shoulder prevented him from retreating from her but a panicked look did spread across his face.

"He's a slave. On the run." Rev grunted tugging at the back of his rather tattered sleeveless mesh top that only just hid his chest scar. "And his implant is gone."

"You got somebody to cut it out?" Beka asked him. Zero shook his head slowly. "You cut it out yourself. Jesus, you must have been desperate." Zero narrowed his eyes in a glare.

"So, we take him back before they start firing at us?" Rev asked unsure of his suggestion and Zero tensed up. This was not the way things were supposed to go. A few minutes was all he needed though.

"We could get a good bounty for this one too if he can get passed out security." Beka shrugged and Zero couldn't make out the expression on her face. "Must be valuable with that computer interface in his neck."

Harper looked up in surprise. "That explains how he got through the access codes so fast." Zero met his gaze and obviously Harper saw something there. "He could be really handy around here. I'm not as good with computers as I am with engines." It seemed to pain him to say this but he shrugged. "I couldn't have got through the security that quickly."

Zero looked at Becca pleadingly. "Sorry, I'm not going to risk my ship against those missiles." She turned to the pilot's seat but Zero didn't really blame her. He might have nothing to lose but she had her ship and her crew to lose. That didn't mean that Zero was going to let himself be taken back though. She tapped a few buttons and his Master's face appeared on the screen. Zero blanched backwards in horror, not being able to cover it and found himself held firm by Rev.

His Master saw him and a nasty look spread across his face. "Mr. Astarci. I believe we may have found your stray. Designate a suitable landing place and transfer over a suitable finders fee and we will happily hand him over."

"With pleasure, Captain Valentine." His Master smirked. Zero glanced around hopelessly as his fear of his Master outweighed any sense of logic. He was safe now unless they died in Slipstream. He met Harper's eyes and saw him cringe and mouth what seemed to be a sincere apology. "You didn't really think you could escape me did you, son."

Zero snarled and almost lurched forwards to attack him but Rev restrained him. "See Zero Eight. The rest of the known planets are just as bad as here, just as uncaring for people as pitiful as slaves." His Master smirked viciously. "You always did hold some ridiculous hope that you wouldn't die here. I'm sure twenty-nine felt the same way."

Zero's snarl shocked even Rev that time. Beka turned to look at him with a regretful look on her face. "We've received your coordinates and the transfer. We'll plot a course…"

She trailed off as every screen but the one with his Master's face started flickering before solidifying on their normal status. "Uh, Beka. We're changing course."

"What?" Beka gasped before turning to Zero's Master. "This isn't our doing."

"This is you isn't it, Slave." His Master snarled. "This is one of your viruses isn't it." Zero found the courage to smirk at him but he still shook in fear. And he hated himself for it.

"It's in everything, Beka. Navigation, engines, even life support." Harper sounded panicked. And betrayed. "He could even space us if he wanted to."

Zero met Beka's eyes and slowly shook his head trying to promise that it wouldn't kill them. "What's it doing?" Beka asked.

"It's plotting a course for the nearest possible Slipstream entrance." Harper said.

"Where to?" His Master growled.

"I don't know." Harper told Beka who glanced at his Master apologetically. Zero stared at Harper in surprise. It would be very easy to find the destination. In fact the Navigation computer would clearly say it. In fact, everyone in the room could see it on the pilot's console.

"Foolish, Zero Eight." His Master snarled. "I'll destroy the entire ship before I let you get away."

Beka rounded on him with a furious gaze as the communication was terminated from his Master's end. "You selfish brat. You'll get us all killed."

Zero shook his head but couldn't force the words even if he had wanted to. He pointed at himself and then at the destination screen clearly saying he wanted to go there with them.

"It's not going to matter in two minutes!" Beka swore viciously.

Zero simply repeated the gesture with a pleading look at the Captain of the cargo ship.

"Fine!" Beka snapped. He mouthed the word missiles and pointed to himself.

"You mean you hacked them in the first place for him to control?" Harper asked in shock. Zero nodded. "That's incredible."

"How does that help us?" Beka asked.

"Because he wouldn't give that much power to his Master without retaining some himself." Harper told her.

Zero pulled out his pouch of data chips and found the one he wanted. He offered it to Beka who took it and glared at it expecting it to explode or something. "What's this Harper?"

"No idea." Harper said as he took the chip and turned it over in his hands. Zero pointed at the computer terminal next to Harper. "Boss?" Harper turned to Beka who turned to look at Zero. He held her gaze pleading for her to trust him, to like him. To not get them all killed.

"Do it, Harper." Beka ordered. Harper slotted it into the navigation computer and it refused access. He typed in his access code but the virus was still holding them out.

"Five, Six, Zero, Eight." Zero used his fingers to pass over the code. Harper glanced at Beka but typed it in. Instantly the communications program booted up and a message was sent.

"Boss? I think the satellites are shutting down." Harper frowned. "And we're approaching the closest possible Slipstream portal." Slipstream worked by using the natural cosmic connections between places and forcing the ships to exit normal space and 'ride' these streams between places. Depending on how the nexus was formed made it different depending on where you went and determined the time. Sometimes you had to use five different Slipstream jumps to move between neighbouring systems. Other times just one would get you half way across the Galaxy. Some systems made it possible to enter Slipstream anywhere far enough from a gravitational force but other only had one place safe enough to enter.

"Can you shut down your virus?" Beka asked him. Zero shook his head with a small sad smile on his lips. "With the satellites down I'm not really compelled to hand you back to them, especially now I have an excuse as to why I left with you."

Zero just shook his head. He wasn't willing to take the chance. "Are you really willing to assume I will pilot the ship through Slipstream? Or were you willing to just die if I refused?" Beka asked him.

Zero gestured at the other three in the room and then at her and her ship. "You were willing to take the chance and now you can see I wouldn't risk this ship for anything." Beka concluded. Zero just smiled his small smile again. His eyes tried to lose focus but Zero had been in more pain than this and had lost just as much blood before. He just hadn't been so anxious and adrenaline filled before. Or so hopeful.

Beka set herself up in the pilot's seat and a moment later the Slipstream drive activated and a blue rift opened up in front of them. Two tendrils of light reached out for the Eureka Maru and dragged it in. Zero found his self leaning heavily on the railing to keep to his feet as the ship lurched around the sharp corners of the Slipstream nexus. They were spat out moments later in another system after fifteen seconds in Slipstream and over four hundred light years of actual distance.

Zero sagged as his energy drained from him. He was free from his Master but now he had lost all of his bargaining chips. His virus was already deleting itself from the Eureka Maru's computer and from the original data chip he had planted. Beka now had full control of the situation and Rev still had him held under his claws. His limbs were shaking and his throat felt tighter then it had in a year except for when he'd watched Calamy being murdered. Though the authorities didn't see the killing of a slave as murder.

"Trance, perhaps you should have a look at our new guest. See what you can do with his cloths too while you're at it. They're in need of some attention ." Beka ordered. "Rev, go easy on him."

"You know I would not have hurt him." Rev said.

Zero turned his head to look at Rev in shock. Rev grunted and pulled Zero around and pushed him gently between the shoulder blades. The pressure on his open wound sent him to his knees with a half controlled cry of pain and his sight blanked with white for a moment before he could force them to clear again. He blinked out the spots as he was lifted to his feet by a man his own height. Harper then. He found himself leaning into him comfortably as the nicer man helped him along through the ship to the small cabin that acted as a crew room and as the medical bay.

As soon as Zero was on the bed his eyes closed and he slipped into another exhausted sleep.

XOXOXOXOXOXOXOX

Zero woke to find himself propped up at a comfortable angle. The bed had been altered so that there was support for his upper back within putting pressure on his self-inflicted damage between his shoulder blades. His upper body was bare but he was wearing a light pair of cotton trousers around his lower half and had a blanket tucked up to his waist. He shivered slightly and it attracted the rooms only other occupant. The purple alien. Trance he thought he remembered Beka say.

"Are you cold?" She asked him kindly. He nodded and shrugged. "I know, your planet is a rather warm one. You'll get used to it." He narrowed his eyes at her and she smiled back. "Not your actual planet then?"

He frowned at her having never met somebody so perceptive. He shook his head though. "You don't have to tell me anything, but Beka's going to want to know everything about you before she makes a decision what to do with you or where to drop you off?"

Zero tilted his head and randomly pointed at the floor. "I don't know if she'll let you stay here though Seamus has been going on about your skills with computers."

"Seamus?" He mouthed.

"Harper, the blond guy." She told him. "Sorry perhaps introductions would be a good idea. I'm Trance Gemini."

Zero glanced at her tail and back at her face with a half apologetic, half confused look. "I don't know either." Trance told him with a shrug. "I don't know who were parents were."

He made an 'o' shape with his mouth to show he understood. "Anyway, Rev Bem is the Magog you met. He's a Wayist. They believe it wrong to ever harm another." She continued, ignoring his confused look. "Seamus is our engineer and of course then there's Beka Valentine, the Captain and Pilot of the Maru."

Zero nodded and looked around dramatically before looking back at Trance. He imitated writing on a pad of paper and Trance smiled. "How about I go let the Captain know you're awake and bring you something to write with?"

Zero smiled, ignoring the pain in his stomach and throat since he hadn't eaten or drunk anything in a long time. He wasn't stupid enough to ask though. That had been ingrained into him very quickly four years ago.

It was ten minutes before Trance returned along with Beka and Harper. Zero looked at them and couldn't keep his anxiety from them. "I heard you did quite a number on yourself." Beka told them. "What did you cut out of your back?"

Zero frowned before fisting his hands and placing them together. He imitated a bomb exploding and Harper gulped while Trance just shook her head and Beka raised her eyebrows at him. "I can definitely understand the desire to get it out but Trance tells me it would be better for somebody like her to do it next time."

__

'Next time. She's going to send me back! Or sell me somewhere else.' His arm folded over his stomach as he hugged himself.

"Damn. I didn't mean it like that." Beka told him. "I'm not cut out for this sort of thing. Look, I'm not going to send you back or sell you again."

Zero risked a glance her way but looked back down at his lap. "Would you look at me?" His head was yanked up and he cringed but tensed to accept any punishment she was planning. "I don't believe in slavery. Are you listening to me?" She demanded. Zero met her eyes nervously. "Nobody here believes in slavery. If I had the power I'd make damn sure there was no slavery but since I don't making sure you stay free will have to be enough. You're not going back there, I promise."

Zero relaxed and nodded sincerely trying to express his gratitude. "Right then." Beka said as she sat in a spare chair. Trance squeezed in beside the bed and Harper perched on the bed at Zero's feet. "So, what's your name? Was Zero your designation?"

He mimed for paper and a pen and was handed one better. A data board with a data cable. He glanced it over. "You can open it up and check before you plug in if you want." Harper told him. Zero looked up at the man who was probably only three or four years his senior and they stared at each other. Zero shrugged to show he trusted him and slotted the data cable into his implant. He switched on the data board and waited for the inbuilt virus in his implant to stop searching the device for other viruses or traps. It showed it was clear. "That's a cool program. How many viruses have you written?"

Zero shrugged. Beka shot Harper a look which clearly meant shut up before turning to Zero. "So, what is your name?"

He used the uplink to write in large on the data board. "Zero."

"Ok, so what's your designation?" Beka asked.

Zero quirked her a smile before changing it to the numbers "08". "So do you have a normal name?" She asked.

"I don't know." Appeared on the screen.

"What?" Beka frowned. "How about you just tell us your story, where you come from, how you became a slave? How about that?"

"Ok." Zero showed them the board before wiping it and concentrating on a brief history of himself. "I was a security officer of some sort on a cargo ship that I think was shot down by slavers. I was the sole survivor and the records listed me as being eighteen and new to the ship. Slavers found me and took me to a slavers yard. I tried to escape and killed three of them but they caught me again and sold me to my Master. He tested me in everything and found out I had a knack with computers so got me loads of different ones to try out. I can shoot anything that moves or doesn't move so he used me to hunt game and be a guide for this friends. And I could hack into any computer system or use viruses to do things. I escaped recently, cut out my implant and snuck on here, using the virus to make sure you couldn't give me back. I'm sorry."

He let the three of them all read his story and frowns appeared on all of their faces. "How old are you now?"

"22" appeared on the screen.

"You were a slave for four years?" Harper asked with a shudder. Zero just shrugged.

"I don't understand this, why are you talking about the ships records saying you were eighteen and what was your actual job?" Beka frowned. "What did you do before you joined the ship?"

"I don't know." Appeared on the screen. "My life before eighteen is a blank. I have permanent amnesia from the crash as well as this scar on my chest." Their eyes flickered to the long scar that ran diagonally across his chest from his right shoulder to the base of his left rib cage. "I only know slavery."

This time Beka joined Harper in her shudder. "You only remember the last four years, all in slavery. That's horrible."

Zero shrugged. "What did he have you do with your computer skills?" Harper asked him curiously.

"He made me hijack a rival cargo ship, space the crew and deliver it and its platinum to a rendezvous." He told them simply and saw Beka glance at him warily. "I didn't have a choice." He insisted.

"What about those missile satellites?" Beka asked to cover her doubts. "Didn't they used to belong to loads of people.

"Computer virus." Zero told them. "Designed to run from his computer but I wrote myself an override so I could prevent them from firing so I could one day escape and he couldn't shoot me down."

"Well at least you think ahead." Beka muttered. "Ok, you obviously have skills so I'm offering you a place on my ship but I promise you that if you try anything I'll kill you myself. Actually, try anything and I'll send you to the nearest slaver."

Zero flinched but nodded at her knowing that it was simply the worst punishment she knew for him. His stomach grumbled and he went pale as he realised they had heard it. He tensed for a moment before realising that they were looking at him with pity. "I'll go get him some grub boss." Harper said. "I take it I've got a roomy now then?"

"Better you then putting him with Rev." Becca sighed. "If you don't mind? Harper's a rather messy person but your using Trance's room at the moment and there's only three more rooms in the ship."

"I'm used to the floor. Anywhere is fine. Thank you." Zero let the words fade away as Beka and Harper backed out of the room leaving Trance to check him over and change the bandage on his back.

Zero let himself smile at her as he unplugged the data board.

XOXOXOXOXOXOXOX

End Chapter


	2. Frozen in Time

Sacrifice

Chapter 2; Frozen in Time

**Eureka Maru**

Zero hesitantly reached out to the twin joysticks but pulled his hands back and tucked them into his stomach. He glanced up at Beka on his right who looked frustrated and then to Seamus on his left who gave him a hesitant smile. He gestured vaguely at the joysticks and Seamus grinned.

"I don't know whether it's just today, but suddenly I'm understanding you." Seamus chuckled. "Try not to worry about it so much."

"Just remember what we told you, relax and trust your instincts." Beka told him for the thousandth time. Zero glanced at her and steeled himself. It was all very good to go on about instincts, but he didn't know the difference between his knowledge and his instincts. Working with computers almost seemed to be instinctual, but his grace and skill in fighting seemed part of both. He reached out with determination and grasped the joysticks in his hands, as light as a feather, before grasping them tighter.

"It's just a short jump." Seamus assured him before gripping the banister that ran from the pilot's consoles to the edge of the control room. "Prepare for Slipstream." He spoke as he pressed the intercom next to one of the consoles that sat in easy reach of Zero.

Beka leant forwards and tapped one of the screens and the engines charged up with a sharp whine. The empty space in front of the ship changed from vast blackness to a bright white that ebbed for a moment before reaching out to grab at the Eureka Maru. Zero felt a series of jerks as the ship was suddenly dragged into the vortex of light. His eyes adjusted in an instant and he had the slightest of split seconds to take in the thousands of cords that took up the space around the ship. A space in the cords was in front of the ship and the Eureka Maru was rapidly slipping through it, held **by** two cords on the top of the ship and one on either side though Zero knew instinctively that he didn't need all four holding the ship to navigate safely.

Before he realised what was happening, two of the cords he was attached to twisted away from each other and he picked one and twisted the joysticks to part the ship from the lift cord. The ship caught onto another cord and spun upside down, though it made no difference to the occupants which way up they were. Even as he worked his world seemed to fade to just the cords and the ship, as if he was the ship sliding along those cords. Worry flashed through him as he realised he had forgotten about the real world and he struggled to check where Seamus and Beka were. He was so used to looking for constant danger around himself that this felt unnatural.

His vision spread to a normal aspect and suddenly he didn't feel as connected to the Slipstream as he had. With a jerk the left tether moved away and jerked the ship around wildly, sending Beka flying forwards though she caught herself easily. Zero jerked to recover and the ship caught another tether and settled back onto course. It pained him, but he let himself disappear in the sensation and suddenly it was just him, the ship and the Slipstream.

The whole experience only lasted five seconds and as the ship came out of Slipstream and into normal space Zero had to tear his hands away from the joysticks before he could cross his arms over his chest.

"That was excellent for a first time." Beka assured him.

Zero frowned at her but offered her a small smile. "Not everyone likes the feeling of being separated from the real world." Zero snapped his head around to Seamus who grinned knowingly. "Beka loves it but I prefer to know what makes a ship tick."

Zero offered him a small grin as Beka started tapping at the screen. "You know, you could be brilliant at piloting in Slipstream. That was better than my first time." Beka told him. "Fancy doing the next one?"

Zero unharnessed himself and leapt back off the side of the pilot's chair coming to land next to Seamus. Beka shook her head in amusement. Zero offered her a weak smile before waiting patiently.

"I think we can find something productive to do in the core computer." Seamus offered and clapped his hands as he started searching for his tool belt around the control room. Zero waited patiently, watching as Beka harnessed herself into the pilot's chair. He didn't even realise what he was doing until Beka frowned at him.

"You don't have to wait on me, Zero." Beka told him. Zero blinked and shook himself slightly before wincing and backing away carefully until he knocked into Seamus who put out a steadying arm. Beka flashed him a winning smile before turning back to enter their next Slipstream jump. Zero followed Seamus through the ship to the engine room and the small cabin just before it that housed the ship's core computer and its maintenance terminals.

Zero hoisted himself up onto one of the terminals and let his feet swing slightly as Harper squeezed passed him in the small space and settle in the chair that folded out from under the terminal. "Ok, well I haven't used this in ages. If something goes wrong I just tend to plug in somewhere in the engine room, but I thought you'd appreciate the enclosed space when you jack in." Zero gave him a small smile of appreciation. "Well, Beka, in all her mightiness, yadda yadda, has been getting on at me for a month to fix the lag in the automated correction system. Seriously, you'd think she thought the engines fixed themselves and I had time for this."

Zero raised an eyebrow at the older man with a half amused look on his face that he realised he had used for more often in the last few days than he had in the previous four years. Really he had only used that look when looking after Izus. He held out his hand for the comm. lead and Seamus passed it up to him with a small grin, not seeming bothered by his silence. Zero plugged the wire into his neck implant and leaned back against the wall so he didn't fall off of the terminal when Beka entered Slipstream. He let his eyes closed fully as he completely activated his implant and inserted his own mind into the ships computer. It was risky to do if the ship was under attack in case the computer was destroyed along with your mind, but he wasn't really at risk of that.

He found himself standing in a large room filled with flickering images along what could have been described as screens. He'd had plenty of practice using the implant so he wasn't surprised by the environment. Everything was made of changing codes as the computer made an environment for him to settle in. Zero glanced around as he bit his lip in concentration and turned in a full circle to try to find the imaginary panel that displayed the automatic correction system.

After not seeing it easily he began looking over the nearest few major programs. Each was made up of thousands of interconnecting programs and commands designed to do different things, to make the ship automatic. They were all a mess really, though not much more so than he had expected. All of the used systems he had invaded were like this, including the planet's missile system that he had taken control of. The only computer he had seen in a long time that was working perfectly was the one at his Master's, his former Master's, household though that would be utterly riddled with problems now.

Finally he found the system he wanted and frowned in consternation. It was a mess. He turned and looked up at the sky and focused on words appearing on the terminal screen in front of Seamus. "Do you have a rewrite?"

A few moments later the digital body of Seamus appeared beside him with a sly grin.

"Nope." He grinned more widely.

Zero rolled his eyes, turned back to the holographic screen and opened the file. It spread out in front of him in three dimensions and he sighed before placing his hands on two of the sections and moving them away to the right. He had been working for a few minutes when Seamus moved one of the files slightly making him jump and throw one of the file sections to the side. He almost glared at Seamus but forceful stopped himself.

"Jeeze, you really don't talk do you?" Seamus pointed out as Zero retrieved the lost file with a gesture of his hand. Zero ignored him. "Come on say something, everybody can talk in here you know."

Zero did glare this time though he made sure to look at nothing but the screen in front of him. Seamus shook his head. "You won't even glare at me, now I'm hurt."

Zero paused before continuing his work. "Ok, how about telling me how you lost your voice?" Seamus asked and Zero gritted his teeth to stop from snapping at him. No matter if they were his new Masters or his new employers, it didn't matter to them what had happened to him. He pulled up a file from the other side of the room and inputted one of the protective virus' from his implant. The copy of the main one helped him maintain control when in a computer system like this. A holographic square appeared around Seamus. "Hey! What are you doing?"

Zero glared at his feet before making another gesture that uploaded the virus and the file instantly disconnected Seamus' implant from the system and placed a temporary firewall to prevent him from coming back in. He'd delete the virus after he was done working.

XOXOXOXOXOXOXOX

**That night**

**  
**Zero sat on the metal storage chest that ran along the end wall of Seamus' cabin. Seamus' bed ran along the side wall and the rest of the room had the look of a place that had recently been tidied and Zero knew that the man's room had been filled with half complete projects and tools that he had cleared out for Zero's benefit. Zero wasn't sure how he felt about that. Along Zero's bed ran a window that if Zero bent his knees and moved to the side he could squeeze into. He found it more relaxing to squash himself into that metallic square than to be out in the open room. There was only ten inches of transparent wall between himself and open space. He felt freer than he ever had.

The cabin door creaked as it opened, but slave manners prevented him from looking up though that type of thing was overlooked by Beka and Seamus. Trance was a bit more boisterous around him making sure that he reacted to her with a few gestures either just in greeting or in actual conversation. Rev always seemed to have time to sit and speak to him and he was beginning to be more comfortable around the Magog Wayist who seemed to be happy to hold up the entire conversation without Zero's input.

Zero expected Seamus to ignore him so was rather shocked when he sat on Zero's bed with one leg underneath him. "Sorry about being so rude earlier, it's just what I'm like." Seamus told him. Zero dutifully glanced at him but didn't make eye contact just like he would with a Master. He did draw his arms up over his bare torso though. "Beka **is** pissed at me for upsetting you."

Zero looked at him and shook his head in the negative. "I didn't upset you?" Zero shook his head again and leaned over Seamus for the databoard before leaning back and plugging it in.

"I haven't spoken to anyone in a year, I'm not used to it and even if I could, I'd be too nervous to do it." Zero told him simply and let it fade.

"What happened to your voice?" Seamus asked. Zero watched him for a moment and bit his lip slightly as he decided what to say. He knew that Trance was concerned about how he got the damage and Beka had asked him twice in three days.

"I was screaming." Zero let the words hang on the screen before fading the screen back to it's normal ready state.

"Why were you screaming?" Zero looked at Seamus for a moment but simply unplugged the databoard from his implant. He wasn't ready to tell them something so personal yet. They'd surely assume that one time his Master had taken a beating too far. Seamus sighed, but sent Zero a reassuring smile before reaching out slowly to make sure Zero didn't flinch. Zero let his hand settle on the bare skin of his shoulder and offered a small smile to the older man when he squeezed his shoulder gently. He rolled off of the bed and Zero went back to staring out of the window to give the man privacy to strip down and get into bed. The light flicked off as Seamus snapped his fingers twice quickly and Zero let his head fall onto the glass not even realising as he slipped into sleep.

_No cargo ship that Zero had ever seen looked like the one he was in. It was gorgeous from the very front to the very rear. Sleek lines and smooth edges but with deadly teeth and a harsh bite. He felt himself shiver as the space outside his window seemed to shift as the thousands of ships changed position as they approached in all directions. Missiles lit the space between them and Zero could only feel panic as point defence lasers came to lift across his hull and he felt pain as some of the thousands of missiles impacted with the hull. Crew were dying and he heard their screams as they were torn apart in their escape pods or suffocated as the air rushed out of decompressed compartments. Then he felt lonely._

_  
He was slipping through towards a black hole, beautiful as it was with **its** red aura against the blackness of space around it. Ships chased him, but the closer he got to the black hole the further they dropped away to the stern. The universe around him began to slow and he felt like he was being torn in a hundred different directions and all he could do was watch as his captain fought against his best friend. A huge flash of white burned at his retinas and a shockwave ripped towards him before his senses blanked._

_  
_Waves of pain, guilt, loneliness, betrayal and most of all failure flashed through him as he rocketed awake and panicked as he felt restraining hands on his shoulders. "Zero!" Seamus' voice went straight through him and he settled to slight tremors that racked his body. He couldn't get his thoughts away from the feelings; the same feelings he had felt in his nightmare that matched the feelings he had felt after Calamy had been killed.

"Jeeze, that was one hell of a nightmare."

Zero looked across in the dark room at Seamus who reached up and pushed Zero's sweaty hair from out of his eyes and tucked the few loose strands behind his ear. His hand lingered for a few seconds on his hair before he pulled his fingers away and backed away slightly to give Zero room to pull himself out of his little window box and out onto his bed. As soon as he straightened out on the bed he had to sit up and lean to the side as a coughing fit ripped up his throat and he covered his mouth just in time to feel moisture hit his palm.  
He closed his fist quickly but it wasn't fast enough to cover the faint glistening on his skin from Seamus who grabbed his hand in his own and snapped on the lights. Zero shuttered his eyes against the onslaught but knew that Seamus had already seen the dark blood on his hand. "We need to get you to Trance. You've torn your throat with that screaming."

Zero looked up at the half naked Seamus and the tangled sheets on the other man's bed and knew he'd shocked the man out of his own dreams with his screams. He shook his head and motioned to Seamus' bed with a small smile on his face. Seamus sighed, but flopped back onto his bed. "You are going to Trance though right?"

Zero spared him a nod as he pulled himself up. He was already wearing a pair of combat trousers donated by Seamus so he only had to pull on a pair of Seamus' trainers and a light cotton sleeveless t-shirt before he could leave and remain decent. He made his way through the corridors of the Eureka Maru without a sound and made his way into the control room stopping only in the bathroom to clean his hands and his mouth.  
He stopped just a few feet behind Beka who was watching a video on one of the piloting screens. He watched the game for a few moments until Beka cheered and made him jump slightly. Beka, in turn, jerked in shock as she noticed the movement and spun around in the chair to see him. "Whoa! Don't do that!" Beka gasped as she regained her breath. "You move like Trance. You're out to give me a heart attack."

Zero gave her an apologetic look but simply shrugged. "What're you doing up?" She asked. "Couldn't sleep?"

Zero nodded and gestured at the pilot's seat that she sat in to ask if she wanted him to take over. "Are you sure?" She asked and Zero just shrugged. "Sure, why not? I could use the extra sleep."

Zero offered her a smile before they swapped places. She squeezed his shoulder briefly before slipping out. Zero raised his legs and set them on the top of the railing to the right of the screens before pulling a databoard from where Seamus kept one stored in the cubby that led under the slightly raised rear section of the control room. He plugged it into his implant and began construction of something that had been toying with his mind for the last fifteen minutes. The ship that had been torn up in that Black Hole.

XOXOXOXOXOXOXOX

**The next morning**

Trance came darting into the control room with an almost irritated look on her face. That is, she looked like she wanted to roll him up in bed and strap him down until he was fully healed. "Seamus just asked me an interesting question." Zero played dumb and simply raised an eyebrow at her. "He asked how your throat was."

Zero offered her a clueless look, but she didn't seem to believe him. She pulled out a small scanning device and hopped over to him. "Seamus says you coughed up blood last night after screaming during a nightmare." Zero narrowed his eyes slightly. "I know, you think he should have kept it private, but he's just worried about you."

Zero sighed knowing that he couldn't hide much from her. "Lean your head back." Zero obeyed knowing he'd never get free of her otherwise. She scanned his throat and sighed after a few minutes. "You ripped open three of your eight scars in your throat."

He raised and eyebrow at her but she just shook her head. She couldn't heal the scars or the damage to his voice box and he knew better than to think otherwise. "I could've eased your pain last night if you'd come straight to me." Zero simply shrugged and she grinned at him in amusement.

Beka appeared through the door with an irritated Seamus behind her. "You said you'd go to Trance last night!" Seamus glared at him. Zero flinched at the anger in his voice and Trance jumped in to defend him, but Zero grabbed her arm and shook her head. He mouthed a heartfelt apology which seemed to soothe him slightly.

"Do you want to do our last Slipstream jump to the drift?" Beka asked before chuckling at the speed that Zero jumped from the pilot's chair. "That'll be me then." She smirked at him and Zero caught himself glaring at her playfully before remembering to avert his eyes. "Ah, finally he's using that backbone of his!"

Seamus chuckled and nudged Zero's side with his own. Zero spared him a glance just as Beka initiated their final Slipstream jump.

XOXOXOXOXOXOXOX

**Later**

The Drift didn't strike Zero as attractive even as he stared at one of its dozen arms out of his cubby window. Beka had decided it would be for the best if Zero didn't go exploring in case his old Master had sent people to look for him, but he didn't really mind staying in the ship. With the engines and the navigation systems down he could work on the computer systems without interference and Beka had given him free reign to upgrade their systems, rewrite parts or add new programs as long as it didn't vastly effect any sudden departure that they might need to carry out.

Beka had gone with Seamus to look for parts and to meet their new employer, or rather an old employer that had a new lead on a ship that he wanted to salvage. Zero was happy to stay on the ship with Trance and Rev since he could use the ships computer to do some more research. Ever since the last night and his nightmare he hadn't been able to get the image of that ship from his mind. It drew him like a moth to flame as the only memory in his head that wasn't from his slavery and he wanted to know what it was.

He'd used a databoard to create an image of the ship from his dream and he'd run it through the Eureka Maru's database without any luck and at that moment the ship was running the image through the drift station's public database. He made his way to the computer core three hours later to find that the search was complete without results apart from it having found the same thing as the Maru's database. The symbol he could remember on the side of the ship, the white cross over a gold ring and two crescent moons, once again was recognised as the symbol for an old military force called the High Guard.

It came up as also being a part of the Systems Commonwealth though that again meant nothing to Zero. The Nietzscheans of his Master's household and the other slaves had never mentioned either term to him and unlike fighting skills he had no sense of déjà vu when he saw the terms for the first time. Zero shut down the search feeling rather disappointed with everything, for some reason he had felt like the nightmare was important in someway, but now it just seemed to be a nightmare. He felt betrayed by some ultimate power.

He slipped off of the fold out chair and moved out of the room, locking the door soundly behind him. He'd already upgraded the defences on the computer core to better protect them from intrusion but that didn't mean he could leave them open for any intruder to get in to. He bumped into Beka, Seamus and a stranger on the way back to his rooms and only the stranger frowned at his state of undress. So used to the hot weather on the Belvador and the fact that most of the male slaves weren't permitted to wear heavy upper clothing he rarely wore anything thicker than a light cotton mesh sleeveless shirt. Since it was the ships dark shift and he had only planned on popping to the core and back to his room he wasn't wearing a shirt at all. The stranger turned up his nose at him even as Zero watched him in astonishment.

He'd never seen an alien with such crazed hair, pointed ears and rat like features, but that shouldn't surprise him since he'd only ever seen humans and Nietzscheans before and more recently Magog and whatever species Trance was. "And who are you?" The alien asked.

Zero took a rather involuntary step backwards, but forced himself not to look down as had been beaten into him. He didn't want this stranger to work out he was a slave as it could get them all in trouble. "His name is Zero. The computer specialist I told you about."

"I expect this will cost me extra?" The man sneered at Beka suddenly rather uninterested in Zero, which he was grateful about.

"A family favour." Beka almost sneered back and Zero felt himself relax. If she was planning on selling him or turning him over for a profit she wouldn't have come up with an excuse for his unexpected presence. He shook his head and backed away before turning and returning to his room. Beka had told him that they'd set out soon for whatever salvage trip this was.

XOXOXOXOXOXOXOX

**Two days later**

Zero sat at the computer terminal as the Eureka Maru lurched out of Slipstream and began the half hour journey to the black hole that this potentially salvageable ship was supposedly trapped within. He didn't have a clue what the computer was telling him about the black hole, having never researched science although as far as he knew he could be the galaxy's leading expert in the physics of black holes. For the time being Seamus would have to interpret over his shoulder.

Over two hours later the group hadn't really moved even once the Eureka Maru took position outside of the black holes major influence and they'd settled to scanning each section of the black hole for mass anomalies. Gerentex, the Nightsider, stalked into the room with an explosive sigh of irritation that Zero made a point to ignore, he'd heard it thousands of times when his Master wasn't happy with his speed when working.

"Anything yet?" He snarled. "Or are you people still poking around like blind men?"

"You'll be the first to know." Harper hid the roll of his eyes from Gerentex and Beka but then grinned at Zero when Zero flashed him a half hearted reproachful look.

"This is growing so tedious, Captain Valentine." Gerentex grouched and Zero could help but want to point out that they'd only been doing this for a couple of hours. "I paid you for results!"

"And you'll get them." Beka retorted from the pilot's seat just as Zero brought up the latest scan result from close to the event horizon of the black hole. "But in case you haven't noticed, there are about ten trillion cubic metres of vortex out there, and only twenty million C.M. of ship."

Zero flicked Seamus' elbow to get his attention and pointed to a fluctuation on the screen that matched the supposed weight of the ship they were looking for. It was the right size for a twenty million cubic metre ship as well. "Which just goes to proves just how amazing I…we are." Seamus corrected as he caught Zero's irritated look.

"You found it?" Gerentex asked looking rather relieved.

"For my next trick; A needle in a haystack." Seamus grinned at Beka who flashed him a grin.

"Patch the sensor scan onto the main viewer." She told Zero, who nodded already trying to clear up the picture and get an image. "Let's get some magnification." She added as the black hole altered shape as Zero changed the screen over to the sensor reports. He tapped a few buttons and zoomed in on the right section and then shifted the image to display the ship.

"There!" Seamus grinned. Zero glanced up for the first time since bringing up a visual and flinched violently. Beka frowned at him, but he couldn't care. It was the ship from his nightmare. Where the hell had he seen it before?

"Finally! After all these years. The Andromeda Ascendant." Gerentex leaned over the viewer. "Pride of the Systems Commonwealth. And she's all…ours." He tagged on the last bit as Seamus and Beka glared at him.

Zero zoomed in again on the image and had a crystal clear picture of the ship that matched his nightmare so vividly. "You want some food?" Seamus made him flinch by whispering in his ear. Zero looked up in surprise that there were still other people in the room and saw that Beka was chatting, or arguing, with Gerentex on the other side of the room. Zero nodded after remembering what he had been asked and stood from his seat.

Seamus bounded out of the room, presumably to find Trance and Rev to tell them the good news. Zero flashed Beka a careful look at leaving her with Gerentex after finding the ship, but she just flashed him a reassuring look. He felt a lot of loyalty to this crew after he had put them in danger only to have them take him in and keep him safe. They could have easily turned the Eureka Maru around and taken him back to Belvador for a massive profit but they hadn't.

Seamus and Zero found Trance and Rev in the kitchen with Rev preparing a snack that Zero stole a bit of when it was offered to him. "You see what I'm seeing?" Seamus asked cryptically.

"A really excited human with a rash?" Trance deadpanned and Zero snorted in amusement. It was true, over the last few days Seamus had developed a rather nasty looking rash visible on his neck and down across his left collar bone and shoulder and no matter what Trance had done they couldn't get rid of it. It kept Seamus, and therefore Zero up for most of the night and Seamus was constantly scratching at it even though both Zero and Trance kept trying to stop him. Zero was beginning to be tempted to implant some shock program into the older man's implant for when he thought about scratching it.

"Ha ha!" Seamus glared lightly at all three of them. "No, the ship. The Andromeda Ascendant. Right where that furry little twitch said it would be."

"You're speaking of our respected employer." Rev pointed out and Zero raised an eyebrow at him. Seamus pulled up the enlarged image on one of the visual displays in the kitchen and kissed it soundly.

"You know, I might actually be starting to like that guy!" Seamus told them all with a greedy look on his face which Zero had to prevent himself from frowning at.

"No prior claims." Rev pointed out stoically.

"Open salvage baby!" Seamus sung before reaching up to scratch at his neck once again. Zero flashed him an irritated look and slapped at his hand before it could reach his neck.

Seamus shot him a wounded look but Zero just smiled back without guilt.

"Then it appears we are in luck." Rev agreed.

"Luck? Luck!?! This is a High Guard ship of the line. The pride of the old Commonwealth perfectly preserved." Seamus hopped up onto the table and pulled a bottle of alcohol from above them. "When they made up the phrase 'They don't make 'em like they used to' this ship is what they were talking about. It is _the _big score. The Shangri-La. It's the Holy Grail of interstellar salvage."

"Yes and it's pretty too." Trance put in and Zero flashed her a worried look before glancing at the screen. Trance smiled and continued for him. "And rather scary when you think what could make it go in there."

"Well we all know that one." Seamus waved it off and Zero knocked his hand against Seamus' head to get his attention. "Oh right, sorry." He said lamely. "Huge rebel Nietzschean fleet ambushed it and the ship ran right into it to try to escape. It's been there three hundred years."

_How is that possible?_ Zero frowned without showing why he was confused. _How could I witness it if it was that long ago. _Then he kicked himself, it was just a nightmare, he must have heard the story long ago before he lost his memory or something.

Zero shook his shoulders out to relieve the tension there and backed from the room to check on the computer core and it's newly fixed automated correction system. This close to a black hole he didn't want it to go wrong. He came back in time to see that Beka had joined in the conversation.

"How are we going to spend out money?" Seamus asked.

"Lemme guess." Beka sighed. She was standing opposite Zero in the room while the others had their backs to him. "Little cottage by the lakeshore, a white picket fence, dog? All the traditional mudfoot accessories." She grinned in amusement.

"Not even close." Seamus retorted. "I have one word for you. Seraglio."

"Ser-what?" Trance asked in confusion.

"Seraglio," Beka sighed. "Slave girls and grapes with Eunuch guards. Classy."

_And all slaves._ Zero felt a pang run through him from head to toe and without realising it he was growling, a sound he'd only heard a few times from his throat. When he'd first been captured and found out he was a slave, when he'd killed the Nietzschean who had raped Izus and when Calamy had been killed.

Rev growled and rounded on him in surprise under some instinct at the sound and the others in the room looked around at him in confusion. Zero glared at Seamus before backing out of the room and jabbing the door jam sharply to shut the bulkhead. He was an idiot to believe them when they said they opposed all slavery. Nobody despised all slavery, just the bits that were obvious or disgusted them the most.

XOXOXOXOXOXOXOX

**Several hours later**

Zero was lying on his bed in Seamus' room when the door opened. He threw one of his arms over his head so his elbow covered his face, but other than that he didn't respond to the man's entrance.

"Beka wants to know if you could check the nav. Systems one last time before we try this." Seamus asked him nervously. Zero lowered his arm so his right hand settled on his shoulder and his arm covered his chest. He eyed Seamus with well subtle disdain though he knew the man recognised the expression easily even if it was so close to an obedient look. "I'm sorry about what I said."

Zero sat up and stood in one movement making the other man step back in surprise. Zero was no taller than Seamus but still, when he was mad, he made for a rather intimidating sight. Seamus gulped visibly as Zero brushed passed him and out into the corridor. "You can't stay mad at me." Zero threw him a surprised and rather challenging look. "Nobody can stay mad at the Harper!"

Zero's eyes narrowed. "Ok, so maybe you can but you'll be missing out on hours of fun! I mean who else have you got to talk to, well not talk to exactly, but you get the idea." Seamus blurted and if it wasn't for the nervous lilt of his voice Zero would have simply ignored him. "I say things I don't really mean, it's just the way I am. I joke about things, but I doubt I'd actually do them after thinking about it."

Zero sat in the chair against the terminal and pulled out two of the data cables. He offered Seamus one and the man frowned, he was hardly necessary just to check the system. His eyes widened as he realised that this was the easiest way for Zero to talk to somebody. He jacked in without another thought and Zero followed him in.

Zero made his way to the navigation systems without further thought and a few moments later Seamus found him there. "Seamus, or do you prefer Harper?" Seamus' eyes widened at the sound of his words from Zero's mouth even if they were a perfect representation of Zero's own memories of his words as opposed to vibrations of air like normal speech was.

"Harper I think." Seamus, or rather Harper, told him. Zero made a mental note to refer to the man as Harper even if it wasn't that important.

"Well, Harper, you're the first person to hear my proper voice in a year. Does that take up your regards about slaves?"

"A year?" Harper frowned before realising the accusation. "I don't think anything bad about slaves!"

Zero eyed him for a moment before sighing in acknowledgement of this fact. Harper might act like a selfish git at times, but he did care about others. Sometimes not as much as his machines, but he did care. Zero yanked up a series of programs and began searching through them for anything out of the ordinary. He knew the systems were perfect so he was checking for any recent changes and especially any intrusion by their guest or anything uploaded or downloaded from the large cargo pod that had come with Gerentex.

"A year?" Harper asked after almost half an hour. Zero was impressed, he'd watched out of the corner of his eye as Harper tried to ask the question and stopped himself a hundred times.

"That's when I hurt my throat." Zero told him bluntly. "I've only ever whispered to people since then."

"Why don't you whisper to us then?"

"Because it still really hurts to whisper or even to breathe too much." Zero pointed out. "Besides I barely know you all."

"You can't possibly be scared of us!" Harper retorted.

"Why shouldn't I be?" Zero asked. "One wrong move on my behalf and Captain Valentine will either just space me or sell me back to my Master."

"She wouldn't do that?"

"She could get enough to fix up this ship by collecting the reward undoubtedly out there." Zero pointed out.

"Well, I don't agree that she would do that and I'll tell you this much, I know her better than you do." Harper was getting defensive.

"Because I'm useful to her. I've fixed up her computers and with this salvage job I could be really useful, but if we survive this I won't be as useful as you seem to think." Zero pointed out.

"Survive this?" Harper scoffed. "You evidently have no faith in Beka and me at all!"

"I may not have my memory, but that ship is High Guard and I've read enough in the last few days to know what that means. High strategic power, immense defences and that's without a crew." Zero pointed out.

"That's what you're here for!" Harper grinned in victory. "To stop the computer from firing at us."

Zero eyed him before bringing his attention to the ships systems. "Have you noticed that that cargo pod is draining less power than normal?"

"Well yeah, but I'm not complaining." Harper got sidetracked. "Less work for my babies."

Zero rolled his eyes at the older man in amusement. "And what does that mean?"

"He has some sort of power supply in there that is taking some of the strain for life support and internal sensors." Harper told him. "So?"

"Why?" Zero asked.

"Ah, that's taboo. Employer's cargo pods are off limits." Harper grinned insanely. Zero just grunted. Harper managed to get the conversation back on track. "You don't strike me as the sort to get so worked up over a simple boarding. Ok, not simple as such."

Zero eyed him. "I just have a bad feeling about this."

"You get these feelings often?" Harper asked. "Ever had one at all?"

"Not really." Zero told him. "As far as I know."

"Oh, that just makes me feel enthusiastic!" Harper groaned and unplugged. His image faded from sight and Zero closed the last of the programs and exited as well. "You better stay in here and monitor these here. Gerentex really doesn't like you."

Zero looked at Harper pointedly. "Ok, so he doesn't like me neither. But there isn't anything we need from computers until we have the ship out."

Zero snorted in amusement, tipped backwards in the chair and put his knees up on one of the terminals to wait out this operation. He had no desire really to see the ship from his nightmares escape from its prison. Harper paused in the doorway. "It was good to hear you talk." Zero flashed him an irritated look though it was only half-hearted at best. Harper ducked out of the room with an impish grin on his face.

XOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOX

**Two hours later**

"OK, so according to the stories, the crew of the Andromeda abandoned ship." Beka told the group as they stood around by the main cargo air seal of the ship waiting to go out and explore. They were all wearing pressure suits and side arms, even Trance by Beka's insistence. Beka lent one of her own to Zero after he proved he could shoot better than even Beka who prided herself with a pistol. Zero glanced around at Harper, Trance, and Rev before looking back at Beka. "But they did so during the middle of a battle, so God only knows what we can expect when we get over there."

Zero shivered still feeling some sense of Déjà vu which he guessed would only get worse as he went along. The close up view of the ship as they came into the hanger bay only made him feel more worried.

"I wouldn't presume to speak for the Divine, but do watch out for unexploded munitions, anti-personnel nanobots, automated attack drones…" Rev started.

"Not to mention radiation leaks, blown pressure suits, shrapnel." Beka continued with an uncaring attitude.

"Ok ok." Harper sighed. "Mom and Dad, we get the picture."

"We'll be careful, we promise." Trance nodded. Zero eyed them all, he hadn't ever boarded a ship before, not under hostile conditions at least, but he did know how all the internal security worked.

"I don't want you to be careful, Trance." Beka retorted. "I want you to be paranoid."

"Oh! Oh! Miss Valentine?" Harper chirped making Zero look at him in surprise.

"Yes, Harper!" Beka played along.

"This isn't our first field trip. Purple company excluded of course." Harper eyed Zero not knowing if he had ever done something like this before. Zero shrugged with a small grin on his features. They knew he could defend himself.

"That is my point. I want you to treat every boarding just like your first one. I want you to double check everything." Beka demanded. "Hell, triple check it. I'd hate for any of you to end up like Vexpag."

"Vexpag?" Trance frowned.

"Your predecessor." Rev informed her.

"Oh! He's the guy that retired." Trance grinned. "Didn't you say he bought a farm?"

"_The_ Farm!" Harper groaned. "He bought _the_ Farm."

"What's the difference?" Trance frowned.

"Torn pressure suit and a bad emergency seal." Beka deadpanned. Zero manage to not laugh as the grin vanished from Trance's face with a soft gasp of surprise.

"You'll be fine." Rev assured her. "Keep your eyes opened and use you head."

"Or whatever it is you think with." Harper pointed out.

They made their way through the air lock and out into the cargo bay and to the nearest access door where they passed through into the Andromeda Ascendent's corridors. Zero felt another shiver go through him.

"Air's breathable." Beka reported. "What there is of it."

"We're at point-six here." Trance informed them looking at her own hand held scanner.

"But a lot of the ship is still exposed to vacuum."

"We'll have to re-pressurise it section by section." Rev pointed out.

"I'm in love." Harper declared and Zero caught Beka's eyes and grinned. He started arguing with Trance about the ship and what made a machine a work of art.

"I hate to interrupt such passion, but I smell blood." Rev reported with a low growl. "And burnt carbon. This ship has been through a fight."

"Or everybody got pancaked by the singularity." Beka put in cheerfully making Zero winced at the thought.

"No life signs so far." Trance reported looking again at her scanner.

"Zero, patch into the ships computer." Beka ordered. "Let's see if we can get her to fly again."

Zero nodded and quickly started removing his pressure suit along with the others. He hated the rubber suit and with the bad sense of dread he was getting he wanted to be free to move about quicker. He checked his sidearm before he and Harper went off to find an access panel to the ship's main computer network.

XOXOXOXOXOXOX

**A half hour later**

Zero crouched in front of the open wall panel connecting into several networks to try to get an idea what was going on. He looked down the corridor in the direction that Seamus had retreated to try to open some of the doorways for the others. His databoard flashed with a message from the one that Harper was using and he replied with one of his own. Harper had asked if he'd found some kind of reset system. Zero replied with a laugh on his screen and told Harper to give him several days to find out.

This system was unlike anything he'd ever seen, he had to learn everything about it as he worked. If this single panel meant anything then the ship had more separate systems in it than a small city, all of which were interconnected and defended by a very intricate firewall. Zero would have to attack the system from every direction possible to get through it in order to gain control of the ship for Beka and therefore for Gerentex. He felt a small pang at the idea of breaking into a ship like this in order to make an alien so much money, but he wanted to repay Beka, Harper, Trance and Rev for their kindness.

XOXOXOXOXOXOXOX

**Control Room**

"That makes six." The holographic representation of the ship's AI computer core told Captain Dylan Hunt with a rather practical air about her.

"Human's working with the Magog?" Dylan asked eyeing one of the fix screen screens that watched the six intruders. "Are they crazy?"

"Apparently. Although their leader appears to be a Nightsider." She motioned to another screen showing the Nightsider talking to the human woman before motioning to the purple alien. "And I don't have a clue what she is."

Dylan looked over the images again. All but one simply showed a single figure including the Magog and strange purple alien and also two human men, both working on access panels. The fifth screen showed what seemed to be the leaders of the intrusion, but the two men seemed to be doing the actual take over. "Another thing I don't understand." She told him before enlarging the images of the two men one of which was scratching at a serious rash on his neck. "I'm pretty sure that's Triangulum Measles."

"So he's sick?" Dylan asked with a frown.

"With a disease that was nearly extinct three hundred years ago. Something any decent doctor could cure overnight." She motioned to the other man sitting on the floor with his back against the wall next to the open access panel. "This one has serious scarring to his trachea and larynx. Again something that should have been healed easily. I'm not sure I like the implications of this."

"Me neither." Dylan frowned. "What are these two doing?"

"The one with the rash seems to be overriding local systems to give them better access to the ship. He seems to be waiting for the others to find a ship schematic." She told him.

"The other is tapping into my computer network."

The main screen changed to show the computer representation of the core AI with a frown. "And if I didn't know better I'd think he was a High Guard Computer Tech." She told both the hologram and Dylan. "He's just gotten access to local internal defences."

"How?" Dylan frowned.

"He came in using as many carriers as he could." The hologram said. "I won't make it easy for him to do so again."

"I think it's time I introduce myself to our guests." Dylan growled before spinning to head for the computer tech who seemed to be doing the most damage.

XOXOXOXOXOXOXOX

Zero frowned as he looked down at his databoard. He'd just gotten into the internal defence control for this area of the ship and the computer network had completely isolated that system. He'd hoped that gaining access to one system would make it easier to branch over to the others, but evidently the computer system was more complex than that. _Harper, I've shut down internal defences for this area. Can you tell the others?_

_  
_"Hey people, I'm still waiting for that schematic." Harper told them all over their earpieces. "And our esteemed Zero has the internal defences eating out of the palm of his hand, so don't go annoying him." Zero shook his head in amusement before actually loading a program into the databoard which would give him actual fire control over the internal smart bullets. It wasn't quite that simple with such short notice, but he could turn on any areas internal defences and blind them to friendlies, so basically they would shoot at everything they could see. Not brilliant, but at least the ship's programs couldn't decide they were a threat and shoot at them. Though if it hadn't already there wasn't much chance of that.

"Zero, can you get me anything else?" Beka's voice asked him over the radios, "Something like engines, weapons?"

"Harper, please tell her I'm not a miracle worker!" Zero shook his head as he typed the message for Harper to relay. He heard an amused Harper telling her this.

"Do what you can and keep me updated." Beka told him a couple of seconds later. Zero was about to get back to work when he heard the slight scuff of a boot, he glanced up expecting to see Rev who didn't move as quietly as Trance, only to see a complete stranger stepping up to him with an angry look on his face.

Zero dropped the databoard even as he flipped up off of the wall and dodged the swipe at his legs with a twist of his body. The man drew back to reassess his fighting skills and Zero took the opportunity to look the man over. He was powerfully built with a confidence in his movements that Zero had only ever seen with Nietzscheans. He wore a black uniform and held a long golden quarterstaff loosely in one hand as the other was held out to the side in readiness.

It was his face that shocked Zero the most; he could have sworn he'd seen it before. Or not as much seen as known it before. He shook off the feeling as the man swung the staff around him and threw one end forwards.

Zero was dodging it even before it was sent at him and as he came forwards again he spun to the side and yanked out his pistol. He held it steady on the man for a moment and the man spun the staff to point one end at him. "Who are you and what are you doing on _my_ ship?"

Zero frowned at him, but gestured with his left hand at his throat. "Well you can tell them that if they don't get off of my ship then I will defend my ship." Zero narrowed his eyes at the man feeling loyalty to his new friends, but he didn't want to shoot the man. He holstered his gun and lowered himself into a better fighting stance. The man frowned at him, but swung the staff around to strike again showing that the end pointed at Zero had been a weapon of some kind.

Zero stuck first and felt his blow being blocked with the staff. The man used only staff to block and strike and only used his left hand to divert the odd attack that got passed the staff, but it did even the odds that Zero could stick twice and one normally got passed the staff. Zero used his arms and legs to divert the man's own blows and felt his arms bruising to block the hard metal of the staff. The man had a lot of weight and strength on Zero, but he wasn't nearly as fast and Zero had a lot of experience fighting Nietzscheans and there weren't many who were faster and stronger than them.

Nietzscheans also didn't fight fair whereas this man seemed to pride himself in following his own rules about decorum and fairness. Zero, as an ex-slave, found himself respecting the man more and more as they battled it out. Zero received a nasty strike to his upper leg and weakly dodged to the side as it went dead. He smacked out with a fist that hit the man in the hip causing him to back off with a wince.

"I just want you off _my_ ship!" The man growled bringing his staff to bear. The end charged up with what seemed to be a stun like energy, but Zero didn't really want to become a captive. His foot hooked at his databoard and before the man could attack he flipped up the board and hit two of the keys completely releasing the hold status on the internal defences and making them fire at anything they could see in this corridor.

The first strike hit where Zero had been standing a second before and the second made the other man roll backwards against the other wall. Zero sent him a smirk before dodging the next blast and throwing himself down a nearby ladder way to the next deck. He righted himself warily as he hit the ground below and gasped in air in huge gulps trying to calm himself.

_That was a High Guard Captain_. Zero thought to himself, there could be no mistaking the emblem on the side of his uniform or his passion of defending his ship. He started jogging back to the Eureka Maru in search of the others.

Zero found Beka and Trance near to the air lock and he collapsed against the wall of the corridor with a gasp. Trance was at his side in an instant. "What happened?"  
Zero just groaned and held out his bare arms to show the yellow mottled bruises beginning to show there. "Did you run into someone?" Zero nodded at Beka and motioned to her radio. She nodded and turned away to radio the others. Harper came jogging around the corner a minute later while Trance was checking over his leg where that last blow had landed.

Zero motioned hastily for Harper's databoard and plugged it in to his implant knowing that they needed the information. He dug into his memory and forced an image of the man onto the screen. Harper whistled low. "He's huge." Harper told him. Zero rolled his eyes before concentrating on words.

"He said this was his ship. He was rather adamant about our leaving." Zero told them all with words on the screen. "He was good, better than the Nietzscheans."

"Still there's only one of him." Beka pointed out.

"Yeah, but nobody said anything about taking the ship from anybody, especially somebody that big." Harper groaned. "It's supposed to be abandoned."

"I told you I had a bad feeling about this." Zero wrote.

"Yeah yeah." Harper grouched.

"Well if it wasn't for us he'd still be stuck in that black hole. I think he owes us." Beka pointed out.

"Well maybe if we just ask nicely he'll give it to us?" Trance suggested.

"Hmm." Rev growled. "Mercy has its own rewards."

"Yeah, says you." Beka retorted.

"Look, I say we screw this talking and we start walking. Get…" Harper was interrupted as the ship's intercom came to life.

"This is Captain Dylan Hunt, commander of the Systems Commonwealth Starship Andromeda Ascendant. I've been told the Commonwealth has fallen. Maybe that's true. But there's still one place where the Commonwealth endures, and that's on this ship. _My_ ship." The voice was demanding and confident. "I understand you intend to loot the Andromeda and sell what's left over. I promise you, that is not gonna happen. You have fifteen minutes to restore the Andromeda's control capabilities and withdraw to your own vessel, or I will retake my ship by force. Hunt out."

"Control Capabilities?" Harper looked down at Zero who held out his hand to get helped up.

"I froze them in order to get control of the internal defences." Zero wrote.

"I don't like threats." Beka glared down the corridor.

"Neither do I!" Gerentex told them as he appeared from the airlock. "Which is why I brought him along."

Zero flinched as a Nietzschean appeared through the air lock followed by five other people, obviously mercenaries. Zero instantly had his pistol in his hand, but felt Harper's hand over his wrist stopping him from doing anything.

"I'll take it from here." The Nietzschean snarled as he hefted his gun onto his shoulder.

XOXOXOXOXOOXOX

Zero really couldn't do much after that. He watched as Tyr, the Nietzschean, and his men cleared the halls of androids even as he and Harper jammed the internal sensors under their orders. All the while, Zero felt like he was on the wrong side, that he, Beka, Harper, Rev and Trance should be helping Captain Hunt and not fighting him. It was his ship and if Zero could be happy it would be on this ship. With a ship like this he could finally find and save his family. Destroy the Nietzscheans on Belvador once and for all.

When they finally had control of the control room his work became easier, he could uplink directly into the ship from here and he worked steadily to gain entrance to the ship knowing that he could simply uplink his mind into the core but with the defences he'd already witnessed he didn't want to risk that.

He only looked up from his work when one of the Mercenaries strolled into the room with a dazed a Beka in tow. Zero saw something had happened easily enough and made his way over to them in time to hear Trance gasp at the story. "You are lucky to be alive."

Zero frowned at the words but decided to just listen as he crouched down with them. "I don't think he wanted to hurt us. He went out of his way to control the explosion." Beka said. "He warned me that it was coming. If he wanted me dead, I don't think I'd be here right now."

"Why do I get the feeling we're on the wrong side?" Rev spoke up. Zero grunted his agreement.

"Hey, we're not on a side, ok?" Harper butted in. "We work for Beka, same as always."

"Fine then I say we quit." Trance told them. "Get out of our contract and leave."

"Is that what you really want?" Gerentex suddenly spoke up from across the room.

"Nightsider hearing, makes up for the eyes. I asked you a question!"

"Leave her alone!" Beka demanded and rose to her feet. Zero followed her up and stepped in front of Trance as he put his hand on his pistol threateningly.

"No, that's ok." Trance assured them as she stepped around Zero to stand at his shoulder.

"I meant what I said. We should not be here. This is his ship, and we should let him have it. Now, I'm not going to speak for anyone else here, but I'm done. I quit."

"Well if that's how you feel." Gerentex said.

"You mean I can just leave?" Trance frowned. So did Zero.

"Oh, I insist. In fact, I'll give you a hand!" As he spoke the last word he spun and pulled his gun. Zero's was in his hand in a second, but he was too slow to stop the shot from hitting Trance square in the chest. Zero fired and the shot slammed into the Nightsider's hand sending the gun flying across the room. Zero spun the gun to set it onto a killing shot regretful that it hadn't been already.

By the time it was set everyone was on their feet with their guns pointing at each other. Gerentex growled low in his throat as he nursed his stunned hand. "No!" Rev cried and dropped to the floor behind Zero where Trance's body had fallen. Zero didn't take his eyes from the mercenaries even when Beka forced his arm down. Zero relented as Tyr jerked his own gun at the others. "Sidearms."

The mercenaries made quick work in removing their weapons and ushering them from the room. Zero decided to play meek for the time being.

XOXOXOXOXOXOXOX

**An hour later**

Zero had slipped away from the others after they began trying to come up with plans to circumvent the mercenaries which Zero really couldn't help with. When Tyr decided to blow the computer core Zero decided he had to do something about it. He heard fighting first and picked up his pace and got to the room just in time to see Captain Hunt drag one of the mercenaries, Brexos, out of the room. Zero followed Captain Hunt through the ship to the medical bay, but didn't show himself until he'd put the mercenary into stasis.

Zero knocked on the wall beside him as he waited patiently. The Captain spun around to stare at him and instantly he had his weapon out and with a flick of his wrist the device elongated into the golden staff he had attacked Zero with before. Zero held up his hands in surrender and the man flicked his wrist again to close the staff back into the small hand held device. He spun it once before slotting it into his thigh holster.

"So who are you and what do you want?" He asked.

Zero waved at his throat with a shake of his head and headed for a viewer with a keypad. He used the screen to hold his part of the conversation. "Zero."

"Andromeda said she registered some scarring around your throat, can you not talk?"

"I can, but it seriously hurts." Zero suddenly looked up in shock. "Andromeda, as in the ship. She's AI?"

Before the Captain could answer a hologram sprung into existence at his side. The Captain smirked across at Zero as he simply stared in horror, opening and shutting his mouth. It explained why it was so hard to gain entrance to the ships computer network but what was making him gape was the reminder of his nightmare. He had felt as if he _was_ the ship in those last moments as he was being torn apart but that detail had been hidden under all the pain of the last few moments before Harper had woken him up and he hadn't thought about it since.

"Perhaps you should relinquish control of the internal defences before I do something nasty to you." The hologram threatened.

Zero hesitated, he wanted to do what she said but on the other hand he didn't want to give Hunt and the ship the capability to attack his friends. He held up a finger and typed a message on the screen. "On one condition, you don't kill any of my friends."  
He felt a pang and winced at the reminder of Trance's death especially with her body covered in a sheet just to the side of his vision. "I had no intention of killing any of them." Hunt told him.

Zero nodded and turned to the screen, "I'll have to do it from the control room or by uplinking."

The hologram gestured to the main terminal in the med bay and Zero sighed before making his way there under the close eye of the High Guard Captain who seemed to simply be waiting for Zero to make a mistake so he could take his head off. Zero made quick work of the terminal and soon could plug one of the data cables into his implant. He fully activated the link and felt his body sag to the floor as his mind traveled in to the computer core.

"Whoa!" Zero gasped as he stared around in shock. "This is…"

"Thank you." The soft voice of the ship's AI spoke from behind him.

"A bi-personal personality network shown by computer and holographic interfaces." Zero started.

"Tri-personal when fully powered." She corrected.

"This is far more complicated than I realised from the outside. I would have refused to tamper if I knew you were alive." Zero turned to her after staring around at the seemingly endless chamber filled with programs, memory files. The main different between this and the Eureka Maru's cores though, apart from the size, was that this one had locked walls all around it and even within it.

"Yet, you did." She glared at him and he winced.

"I'm sorry. Beka and Harper asked me to." For some reason he really wanted her to understand his reasons. "They saved me. I owe them."

"Saved you from what?" She asked.

Zero lowered the collar of his shirt to show his left collar bone. The skin just under it was etched with a black tattoo reading 70896-08. "From slavery."

"How long were you a slave?" She asked suddenly seeing him in a different light. "There wasn't much slavery three hundred years ago."

"So I've been told." Zero sighed. "My whole life as I know it. Four years."

"Four years?" She asked.

"Amnesia from a ship crash supposedly. Slaver's found me." Zero said before turning his back on the image to summon the file to him. It was easy to find and delete since it was a foreign file in a very complexly internet worked system. "Happy?"

"Very." She grinned at him. "I could use somebody like you around here. My core isn't running at even seventy percent."

"Please tell your Captain that I wish to help him rid the ship of Gerentex and the mercenaries as long as he sticks to my condition." Zero told her. "My friends had no desire to steal this ship from anybody. Trance must have proved that to you."

The ship image, Andromeda, dipped her head in agreement. Zero backed out of the uplink and opened his eyes to see Captain Hunt leaning against the other wall. The hologram version of the AI appeared. "He did it, I have full control of my internal defences, but internal sensors are still down."

"Not me." Zero mouthed with a shake of his head. He'd left that part for Harper to do manually.

"A channel has been opened between the invading ship's computer core and my own." Andromeda told them from the viewer to the side. Zero frowned, but pulled himself to his feet feeling slightly nervous in the Captain's presence. He walked quickly to the viewer and typed a message on the screen that he knew the AI could read.

"That will be Harper trying to gain control. He might uplink, but please don't hurt him." He asked as politely as you can when typing so fast on a computer screen.

"I'll try." She muttered before vanishing to confront Harper. Zero winced imagining what she could do to him with his mind inside her own. Compared to her neural net their own ones were pitiful, the only plus side to their own was that they could repair themselves given time.

"What do you think they'll do next?" Hunt asked him. Zero frowned trying to figure it out. Beka, Rev and Harper would try to find him to sort the problem, but Tyr and his remaining mercenaries would undoubtedly try to destroy the AI core. He wrote a message to that effect. "What happened to your pistol?"

Zero glanced down at his empty holster and frowned. "The Nietzschean took it." Zero typed.

"Time to get you one of these, but I swear if you try anything." The Captain glared at him

Zero held up his hands in surrender and the Captain nodded before leading the way from the room and down the corridor, through a small access tube that led to the back of an armoury that Zero knew the others hadn't found as of yet. The Captain was working on permanently locking the door when Zero's comm. Unit came to life. He pulled it from his ear and turned on the speaker so that the Captain could hear.

"Zero! Where've you gotten to? Did you know this ship is alive!?" Harper gasped down the radio. "It just tried to fry my brain! Gerentex wants you to help me delete her. Can you do that?"

"Can you?" The Captain asked quietly with a hard look at Zero. Zero shrugged. The Captain held out his hand and Zero passed him the comm. unit. He pressed down the button. "This is a High Guard Warship I'm afraid. You won't be able to bypass the AI so easily." He said with a smirk on his lips. "Also I'm afraid your friend won't be much help to you at this time. Andromeda didn't like him poking around in her systems and unfortunately for you I managed to force him to relinquish internal defences to me. Would you like to leave now?"

Zero rubbed at his forehead in bemusement. You'd think this man had been on his own for three hundred years and aware of it rather than frozen in time. "What have you done to him!?" Beka voice held enough malice in it to make Zero surprised. He hadn't realised she'd be that protective of him.

"Well he's not one for conversation." Zero rolled his eyes up at the man. "But he's alive for now."

Zero eyed him wondering whether the lingering threat was serious, but Zero knew that a man, Captain or not, was better off with at least a partial ally than none at all and he knew that the Captain knew that. Zero accepted the comm. unit back without comment, not that he could anyway, before waiting as the man pulled one of the foot long staff weapons he'd defended against earlier. The Captain pushed a few of the buttons before carefully handing it to Zero who in a show of faith took it without suspicion, or at least visible suspicion. It made a strange bleep noise as his fingers touched it.

"It's now coded to your DNA, it'll shock anybody, but you who tries to touch it. For the time being I've set it so that Andromeda can override it though just in case." Zero nodded in acceptance knowing that he would have done the same in the Captain's position. The Captain left through the tunnel they had entered from and Zero followed wondering just how many of these secret tunnels there were and how many of those were actually on the ship's schematic. Not many probably. Knowing that Tyr would probably try to destroy the AI's core they headed straight there as the Captain explained the Force Lance's functions. It was capable of far more than seemed necessary, but if you wanted an all purpose weapon it was perfect. Among other things it could fire smart bullets, could deliver a stunner pulse, could elongate into a study quarter staff and even operate on remote, either with signal or voice codes.

"We don't have any explosives!" Leston's, one of the mercenaries, voice came to them from around the corner and both of them ducked to the side to wait in ambush. Zero decided to prove himself and pulled his Force Lance from its pouch and with a flick that the Captain had shown him it elongated silently into the quarter staff version. He held it ready and the Captain nodded at him.

"Then we'll shoot our way through." Tyr's voice was quiet though Leston was an idiot to have it on speaker and not in his ear. "Either way it's coming down."

"You're the expert." Leston said just as he stepped past Zero without looking as he entered the corridor junction. "I'll be there in…" Zero cut him off as he moved out behind the man and landed a solid, expert, blow with the end of the staff to the back of his neck. The man grunted as he went down onto his knees and Zero spun the staff in his hand before throwing it into the man's stomach to knock the air from his lungs. He fell on his face and Zero smirked up at a mildly impressed High Guard Captain. Zero flicked his wrist again and the Force Lance shortened back to the hand held size.

"I'll get that." Hunt offered and hefted the man as Zero guarded him.

"Leston?" Tyr's voice came back and Zero leant over as Hunt lifted him and switched it off half way through Tyr's attempt to repeat the call. He guarded Hunt as he hefted the body around the corner to an escape pod and pushed him through just as the mercenary began to wake up.

"Hey!" He cried staring around him in horror. "What are you doing?"

"Adios." Hunt smirked and hit the release. The pod's door swished shut and a second later it thudded as the pod was ejected. "Andromeda? Have you gained entrance to the intruder's ship yet?"

Zero looked up in surprise and wariness though he was partly interested in finding out how long it would take an AI of her complexity to get through the Maru's new defences and the Virus traps. "A further five minutes approximately." She told them both. "Are they your viruses?" She asked directly as Zero.

Zero nodded. "He could definitely be useful to tune up my systems."

"If we can trust him that much." Captain Hunt warned.

Zero looked at Andromeda and pointed to the record button built into his comm. Unit with a pleading look on his face. She smiled at him and promised to record her entrance to show him later. Zero smiled happily before turning to see an amused looking Captain Hunt. "You're getting into her good books."

Zero smirked at him before starting to follow him up through the ship towards the control deck. They were only halfway there when they heard a dull thud travel up through the ship. "Andromeda?" Hunt asked. "What was that?"

"They've left the hanger. I think we've won." She sounded uncertain and neither human believed it would be that easy.

Zero looked at her and gestured around. "We are still dead in the water, I don't have in-system drive capabilities yet." Zero shook his head to show that wasn't what he meant before gesturing at himself, then at his comm. Unit and then around the ship. "Oh, I believe only three intruders remain on board. Not including yourself."

"Well let's go round them up." Captain Hunt nodded. "After we take back command."  
They had only just started walking again when another thud ran through the ship.

"Andromeda?" The hologram appeared again.

"The intruder's ship has moved us from stationary orbit of the black hole." Andromeda paused before frowning. "We are on a direct collision course with the black hole."

"Damn." Hunt took off at a run and Zero took off after him. They made it to the empty control room within a few minutes and the main screen changed to show Andromeda.

"Engines are completely offline. We're falling back into the black hole and I can't compensate."

"How long until we hit the event horizon?" Hunt asked.

"Less than an hour." Andromeda told them. Zero jumped up to the first lieutenants console and began searching through the controls for something to access.

"It's just been one long day." Hunt groaned. "Can you do anything?"

Zero ignored him in favour of running rapidly through the computer system. With unfettered access suddenly granted to him by Andromeda he found it much easier. His right hand tapped out a message on the secondary keyboard to Andromeda who spoke up to the Captain. "He's trying."

Zero was discussing options with the ship having her report the status of absolutely everything and would watch the results on the right half of the console as he tried to divert power from other systems to get the engines back online. It was almost ten minutes later with little success on the Engines when Hunt spoke up from his own slower attempts. "Anything?"

"We've got some of my peripheral systems back on-line but still no engines." She told her Captain with a grim look.

"Well, that's a start, anyway." Hunt sighed.

"Dylan!" Andromeda gasped a few moments later. "Somebody just launched an escape pod."

Zero paused in his work to stare at the screen hoping to hell that it wasn't his friends that had tried to jump ship. _No_, he thought, _Beka isn't that stupid._

_  
_"Patch them through to me here." Hunt ordered.

"They're heading straight for the singularity." She reported.

"They'll never make it, we've got to help them!" Hunt grimaced.

"Even if I was fully functional, it would already be too late." Andromeda told him bluntly. Zero flinched as screams echoed across the control deck as the two people in the escape pod were torn to shreds on the event horizon. Zero felt glad they weren't Rev, Beka or Harper's voices. The sounds made him remember his nightmare once again. Was this what it had been about? Them being dragged into the black hole right now and slowly torn apart. He'd assumed that if it hadn't just been a simple nightmare that it had to do with how the ship had been caught and held by the black hole, not anything to do with what would happen to him now. He didn't think he wanted to feel being torn apart again, it had hurt enough in his dream.

"They're gone." Hunt sighed.

"There was nothing you could have done." Andromeda told him sincerely. Zero looked up at the downtrodden Captain with a frown.

"You keep saying that. You said it about the fall of the Commonwealth, you said it about that girl dying, and now this!" He glared up at the screen. "But I don't buy it!"

Zero watched in silence as ship consoles Captain. "Dylan." She sighed.

"Scan the ship, lock on to the intruders; I want to know how many are left." Hunt ordered to cut her off.

"Only three, not including Zero." She told him. "All in medical, do you want me to contact them?"

"No, I'll do it myself." Hunt growled.

"Understood, they're…" She paused. "Hold on."

"What?" Hunt asked impatiently.

"I have a surprise for you." Andromeda grinned. "The alien that I couldn't identify is reading as a life sign again. She's fully healed."

Zero jerked and looked at the screen in shock before he offered a weak chuckle. Hunt turned to him. "Stay here and see what you can do with the engines. I'll go talk to them all and retrieve your friend."

Zero felt put out for a moment, but he knew that if he didn't get the engines on line or come up with a plan then they'd all be dead regardless. Including Trance. He jerked his head in a nod and turned back to the console as Hunt jogged from the room and down towards the medical bay. Zero paused in his work to look up at Andromeda's hologram that had newly appeared across from him. "Is he always like that?" He wrote on the side keypad.

"Like what?" She asked him, he voice taking a different edge as it came from the hologram rather than the control deck's speaker system.

"Blaming himself for things out of his control." Zero frowned. "That murdering Nightsider, the escape pod?"

"It's just who he is and he's the best Captain I've ever had because of it." She declared with a proud look on his face.

"All for the next forty five minutes before we get ripped to shreds." Zero typed to get himself back on track. She got a determined expression as she gave him everything he wanted from information on the now increasing artificial gravity field to the slipstream engines and even to weaponry. "What's a Nova bomb and why is it so protected by lock outs?"

"A gravity inverting weapon designed to cause a sun to go supernova." Andromeda told him. Zero's hands froze and he looked up. "What is your thinking?"

"It inverts gravity fields?" Zero asked typing furiously as a plan formed in his head. "How many do you have and how many would it take to counter the gravitation field of the black hole?"

"Such a thing has never been tested. The Nova weapon is only powerful to tip a stars already unstable equilibrium over the edge." She lectured. "Conceivably with enough we could invert the black whole into a white hole which would push us away. If it didn't destroy us."

"Could we then jump into Hyperspace before the main shockwave hits us?" Zero asked.

"Theoretically." She told him looking rather worried.

Zero's hands were flying over the keyboard on the main screen, setting up simulations. Andromeda went silent as she used his guidelines and her own massive technical database to run the simulations. The results were worrying, but they were better than the picture in Zero's mind about being pulled to shreds by the black hole.

The door behind them opened and Zero turned to look as first the Captain entered followed by Beka and Rev. Zero felt a grin split across his face as Trance danced into the room before the grin vanished into one of pain as Tyr, the Nietzschean, strolled in behind them. "Couldn't he have left the Nietzschean down in the med lab." He asked Andromeda privately. "Or put him in an escape pod."

The main screen activated and Andromeda gave him a stern look of reprisal. "We'll need everyone if the Captain agrees to your plan." She lectured him. Zero sighed but then grinned as Trance danced up beside him on the slightly raised pedestal of the first lieutenants console. He turned and hugged her grateful to see her alive.

"I know, I'm glad to be alive too." She grinned at him and he nodded thankful that she knew what he was thinking.

"What plan?" Hunt interrupted the moment and Zero turned to him before gesturing to the screen. Andromeda conceded to his request and his calculations appeared on the screen.

"We don't believe we can fix the engines in time to avoid the black hole, however by inverting the black hole's gravitational field, even temporarily, it should push us far enough away to enter slipstream before the main shockwave blocks the slipstream entrance." Andromeda, the hologram, lectured.

"And how can we do that?" Rev asked Zero who glanced at the Captain nervously.

"Nova bombs?" The Captain guessed correctly.

"Nova bombs!" Tyr demanded shocked. "You're carrying Nova bombs?"

"The Andromeda's a High Guard ship of the line with a wide range of combat capabilities." Zero noticed that the Andromeda on the screen and the hologram pulled her self up at the praise and he grinned at the hologram cheekily.

"You'll have to excuse us." Trance pointed out. "It's just the we've never met anyone who could blow up a sun before."

"The Systems Commonwealth never used Nova Bombs in combat." The hologram lectured.

"As far as you know." Beka spoke up.

"You didn't know what you were salvaging?" Hunt asked.

"No." Beka glared out into space. "But I'm beginning to think that Gerentex did."

"Obviously we underestimated him." Rev pointed out.

"How many would we need?" Hunt turned to Zero who glanced at Andromeda.

"All of them." She told him simply.

"How many is all of them?" Beka frowned.

"Forty." Andromeda told her simply.

"Forty Nova Bombs!" Tyr gasped. "Do you have any idea what could be achieved with that sort of fire power?"

"Nothing, but destruction." Hunt said. "That's all Nova Bombs are good for."

"You may not agree when your enemy destroys you because you wished to be noble." Tyr argued.

"The point is moot." Zero typed to Andromeda. "We need all of them to have a chance of getting this to work."

"Zero is right. This is a waste of time." Andromeda spoke up interrupting the bubbling argument. Everyone looked at Zero and Tyr glared at him. Zero flinched, but his hand moved to his Force Lance warningly. Andromeda noticed and spoke up to fend off a fight. "We need all forty Nova Bombs to get this to work."

"They're right." Beka announced and strolled forwards to Zero having seen his flinch easily and knowing why he was acting that way. "Let's wipe that smug look off of Gerentex's face."

Zero nodded before typing a message. Andromeda was kind enough to ask for him. "Zero would like to know where Harper is."

"He was on the Maru, I'm guessing Gerentex forced him to pilot it for him." Beka sighed. Zero met her gaze with a worried look. Gerentex had already proven himself capable of killing somebody for little reason. "We'll get him back."

"How long will it take to set up the Nova Bombs under new authorisation?" Hunt asked Andromeda.

"Not long." She told him. "I'll need three new personnel."

"Voice activation?" Beka asked Captain Hunt who nodded. "Sorry Zero, looks like you'll have to pilot through slipstream, there isn't anyone else who wont be busy."

Zero winced and looked at her hopelessly knowing he'd already lost. With everything happening he couldn't do anything that needed communication between them. "It may be a tough Slipstream." Hunt warned taking the worry the wrong way.

"He's a natural; he just doesn't like surrendering his perception of reality." Beka assured him. "With some practice he could be as good as me."

"Ah, that's so sweet of you!" Trance gushed but Zero just glared at them both before turning back to the console to help Andromeda enter Beka, Tyr, Rev and Trance into the system.

As Zero strapped himself into the pilot's chair and spun it to face the front they had only a few minutes remaining before they'd be too late. Zero nodded at the screen version of Andromeda who seemed to worry about him more than the others. Perhaps because she knew that he couldn't communicate with the others without a databoard or similar whereas he could hold conversations in actual words with her when up linked or just on a terminal.

"It's now or never." The hologram Andromeda told the Captain solemnly.

"Initiating Nova deployment sequence." Captain Hunt ordered before grinning strangely. "Let's bring it!"

"Acting First Officer Beka Valentine." Beka declared from in front and to the left of Zero. "Nova deployment authorized. Zero Zero Strike Red Zero."

"Acting Armsmaster Trance Gemini." Trance was next though he couldn't see her. "Nova deployment authorized. Retro Nine Blue Strike Five Nine Five."

"Fire Control Officer Tyr Anasazi." The Nietzschean declared grimly. "Arming Nova weapons one through forty. Execution code nine five over seven blue five. ARM!"

"Ready for your final order." Rev reminded the Captain from the right of Zero.

Hunt glanced at Zero and Zero grimaced in return hoping that his plan wasn't about to get them all killed. "Captain Dylan Hunt, commanding officer." He stated calmly. "Nova deployment authorization ten break alpha. Strike, strike, strike."

"They're ready." Tyr announced unnecessarily since one of the front screens had changed to show the status of all forty Nova Bombs.

"Missile tubes one through ten." The Captain braced himself and Rev put a clawed hand on the railing in front of him. Beka gripped the console that Zero had worked at as they all prepared themselves. "Fire!"

Ten streaming white missiles burst across the view screen directly at the approaching black hole leaving white trails behind them. Captain Hunt ordered the next three salvos once after the other and another thirty missiles burst through the trails as they gained on the missiles in front. All hit the target at the same time.

Rev glanced at the screen. "Detonation in three, two, one. Detonation." Zero flinched as he plan went into action and the black hole pulsed before exploding into a searing white light. Zero almost cried out as he remembered the burning pain in his eyes, but no matter what he couldn't tear his eyes away from the ebbing light in front of him even when white light burst from it in all directions.

"Fiat Lux." Rev grumbled.

"Let there be light." The Captain translated in appreciation to the words. This moment of peace didn't last though as he glanced down at his read out. "Destroying AG field. Hang on, this is going to hurt!"

"Hunt! Power up the drives, we've gotta get out of here before it collapses back in on itself!" Beka yelled and that broke Zero from his staring contest with the miniature big bang of his nightmares.

"I know!" Hunt yelled. "I know!"

"The force of the explosion is over ten million tera-tons." The hologram told them all as it appeared in front of Zero. "Radiation dampers are out. Radiation will reach lethal levels in less than three minutes."

Zero and Andromeda had already worked that bit out in the simulations though so Zero wasn't all too surprised. Zero could see that they were being pushed out away from the white hole just as he had hoped and the longer they waited the better their chances of making it safely into slipstream. If they waited too long the white hole would change back into a black hole and they start their descent once again.

"The white hole's becoming unstable." Andromeda's hologram declared. "Normal gravitational fields are returning."

"We're almost far enough away." Hunt decided. "Just a few more seconds."

"We're going to get sucked back in." Tyr growled.

Hunt snapped around to Zero. "Slipstream! Now!"

Zero didn't need telling twice and he hit the activated sequence on the pilot's chair. A slipstream window exploded in front of them and tendrils gripped the Andromeda and yanked it in. Knowing that this was dangerous enough as it was, Zero didn't even try to fight the yearning to be one with slipstream and instead just let the feeling of being the ship and sliding through slipstream overwhelm him as he navigated the route perfectly.

"Transiting to normal space." Andromeda declared even as the others were being jerked around as was normal. Zero felt the ship lurch out of slipstream and as soon as he was better aware of his surroundings he stared around at him making sure everything was as it was. _I really need to get used to that._ He thought to himself with a shake of his head.

"We're clear, we made it!" Trance danced to Zero's, and most of the others', amusement.

"Well, I'll be damned." Beka opened and shut her mouth a few times.

"It's over. Good work, Zero." Captain Hunt nodded at him and Zero sighed and sagged back in his seat.

"I only hire the best!" Beka declared with a grin at Zero who simply raised an eyebrow at him. "Well…anyway." She winced at the reminder that Zero didn't want paying as long as he was free.

Zero looked sideways at Rev who looked up at the ceiling like he did when he prayed. "I owe you one."

Zero chuckled before turning to Beka with a waiting expression. "What?" She asked.

Zero sighed and moved his hand to the data pad attached to the arm of the chair. "Andromeda, could you remind Beka that we need to find her ship and more importantly Harper?"

Andromeda appeared on the screen a second later. "Captain Valentine, I believe Zero would like to remind you about your engineer and your ship."

"Oh right." She gave Zero an amused look before walking over to where Hunt was talking to Tyr, Trance and Rev.

Zero turned back to the screen to see that Andromeda was still there. He moved his hand to type without taking his eyes off of her. "I'm sorry to use you as a communicator. It doesn't do you justice."

She smiled at the compliment. "I don't particularly mind, I have had worse jobs expected of me, though the flattery does help."

"It's the truth." Zero wrote. "You are remarkable."

"Thank you." She nodded. "How about a deal, I'll accept being your translator until we can sort out your voice and in return you can look at my systems."

"I think that's the closest I've ever gotten to being hit on." Zero wrote cheekily making her roll her eyes.

"Why are all technicians the same?" She spoke to herself though Zero heard her.

"You haven't been formally introduced to Harper yet. He'll fall in love with you." Zero told her with a straight face. "Though he'll want you for your body, I only want you for your mind."

"I feel honoured." She deadpanned and Zero grinned at her inanely. Computers were simple; they didn't want to hurt you for no reason. His grin vanished as Beka and Captain Hunt appeared on his right.

"Ready for another 'stream?" Beka asked.

"It's not like I have a choice." Zero wrote and Andromeda let the words appear on the main screen for Beka and the Captain.

"Match our previous course and prepare for Slipstream." Hunt told Andromeda who nodded and vanished.

Normally the pilot declared when they entered Slipstream but Beka, knowing that Zero couldn't and probably didn't care to anyway, spoke up for him. "Entering Slipstream. Now!"

Zero activated the slipstream engines without taking his eyes off of the space viewed through the control room displays and they were yanked through slipstream yet again.  
They re-emerged a respectable distance from the black hole and Zero waited patiently as Beka, Trance and Rev started scanning the system for signs of the Eureka Maru. "Rat-faced weasel took my ship!" Beka spat. "We've found the Maru's course, but it's not in the system. But look at this."

A scan report appeared on the main screen and Andromeda's holographic matrix appeared. "Pion particles."

"A large spill right on the edge of the Slipstream nexus." Beka informed them.

"Young Master Harper's work." Rev concluded with a satisfied expression.

"A trail of breadcrumbs to follow." Beka looked at the Captain. "If you're willing."

"Wait a minute." Captain Hunt held up a hand. "Let me get this straight. You forced your way onto my ship, and then you tried to steal my ship. And now, after I saved all your lives, you want me to help you retrieve your ship."

"She's like that." Trance pointed out cheerfully. "Don't take it personally."

Zero snorted in amusement but put on a straight face when Beka turned to glare at him.

"Believe me." Beka spoke up after turning back to the Captain. "You're the last person I want to ask for help but I have no other choice."

"Fine, I'll do it." Hunt agreed. "On one condition."

"Name it." Beka nodded.

"Not now." Hunt grinned. "When we're done."

"You want me to do something for you but you won't tell me what it is?" Beka frowned.

"Do you want your ship back or not?" Zero shrugged at her when she glanced at him. He found himself trusting the Captain just a little bit though he thought that might be only because he liked the AI.

"I guess we have a deal."

"All right then!" He grinned. "Let's go hunting."

"Oh great, more work for me." Zero mouthed as he typed it. Andromeda appeared as a hologram and grinned at him. Zero rolled his eyes as the pilot seat was fed the Slipstream data. He activated it without warning them and grinned as all but Trance and Rev almost fell over.

They reappeared half a minute later after Zero had followed an entire trail of Pion Particles into a nearby system. Evidently Gerentex hadn't thought to go far. The Maru was directly ahead of them and without asking for Beka's permission to screw up her ship, Zero entered a sequence into his armrest and asked Andromeda to send it.

"Permission to send transmission?" Andromeda asked her Captain.

"Transmission?" Hunt asked him.

"To shut down the Maru's external sensors." Zero told him.

"You have a virus in my ship?" Beka rounded on him.

"Send it." The Captain told the ship and a second later the transmission was sent.

"It's a harmless one. I installed it along with a hundred others to make up the main defences of the core." Zero typed and Andromeda placed the message on the screen for Beka to read herself.

"I registered them. I decided not to risk triggering them when I entered the Maru's computer core." Andromeda admitted. "I decided to scare them rather than try to bypass them."

"You can't tell me they would have stopped you." Zero typed.

Andromeda smiled at him without telling the others what he had said. "Not for long." She told him in amusement.

"Whoever programmed your emotional matrix should be shot." Zero told her simply.

"Put us right on top of them, Zero." Hunt told him. "With their sensors down we'll take a Lancer drop pod over and surprise them."

Beka nodded knowing that as Captain the ship wouldn't prevent her from opening the air lock, even remotely from the outside. Rev and Trance stayed in the control deck as Tyr, Beka and Captain Hunt retreated down through the ship as Zero circled around the ship and settled down close above it knowing exactly how to avoid all of the few windows on the ship in case somebody happened to look through them.

"It's good to see you alive, Trance." Zero typed on his armrest and let Trance read it straight off when Andromeda chose not to interfere in a private moment.

"I know. It's great!" Trance grinned and did a small twirl in front of him.

"It is good to see you well also, Zero." Rev nodded at him.

"What happened to Zero?" Trance frowned suddenly.

"He did a disappearing act just after we thought you had died." Rev told her.

"I ran in to Captain Hunt and offered my assistance." Zero typed. "I did not think that Beka would have agreed at the time and Rev, Beka and Harper were less likely to be able to escape."

The other two read this and smiled at him. One smile bright and cheerful and the other, though honestly happy, was rather frightening. Zero unhooked himself from the chair and stretched before deciding to sit the rest of the wait out in patient silence as Rev and Trance talked together about the ships hydroponics bay.

Almost twenty minutes later the control deck's door opened and Harper announced his presence loudly. Zero spun the pilot's chair to face the entrance as the others all appeared. "Harper!" Rev grumbled cheerfully to see their engineer back in one piece.

"Greetings fellow space travellers!" Harper grinned and did a small jig as he stared around at the consoles. Hunt eyed him carefully from where he'd followed him in. Beka and Tyr were nowhere to be seen.

"Where's Beka?" Trance asked.

"She said she'd meet you all in the obs deck in forty-five minutes." Captain Hunt told them all.

"Something about a favour." Harper muttered before playing with the console.

"I only asked for ten minutes of your time." Hunt told them. "In the meantime please feel free to explore."

Zero watched as Harper continued to play with the console. He tapped Trance on the arm before typing her a message. "Tell Harper that he should ask for permission before tampering."

Trance grinned at him in amusement before turning to Harper. "Harper, you know you should tamper without asking permission."

"Captain Hunt told us to explore." Harper barely looked up.

"Captain Hunt isn't the only one you should ask permission from." Andromeda told the engineer as she appeared holographic all right in front of him. Zero laughed as Harper went sprawling. "Perhaps I should electrocute you again?"

"Umm…I didn't mean any offence." Harper gushed before pulling himself up. "Who'd want to offend such a beauty as you?"

"I told you he'd fall in love with your body." Zero wrote on the arm rest again and the hologram turned to look at him.

"I prefer neither of you go tampering with me no matter how much you compliment my mind." She turned then to Harper. "Or my body."

Zero laughed a genuine laugh that made Harper, Trance and Rev smile at him. He'd never laughed on the Eureka Maru and he would admit it to them but he felt free on Andromeda, like everything was falling in to place. Like he could finally do the things he wanted to do even though he couldn't put his finger on the reason right at that moment.

XOXOXOXOXOXOXOX

Zero sat on the window sill that ran along the base of the curved window of the obs deck as he listened to Captain Hunt address them all. The Holographic matrix of Andromeda stood at his side formally. She'd arrived just after she'd treated Harper's deadly rash and the man was looking a lot happier now that it was gone.

"I'll make this quick." Captain Hunt started. "This isn't my time anymore. I've checked your historical records, and since my time, life has gotten a lot harder. Civilization is in tatters, the strong prey on the weak, there is no justice, there's no unity, there's no law. I intend to change all that. The Commonwealth wasn't just an institution. It was a dream. But dreams don't die. And as long as I'm alive and in command of the Andromeda, neither will the Commonwealth."

"You want to restore the Commonwealth?" Beka asked sceptically.

"I think it's my duty to try." He told her. "But I need help, I need a crew."

"Us?" Harper sounded as sceptical as their boss.

"Why not?" Hunt asked. "You're smart, you're capable and you deserve better lives than what you've got."

"What's wrong with our lives?" Beka demanded before glancing at Zero having forgotten about him for the moment. They all looked at him except for the Nietzschean, Tyr.

Hunt drew in his breath to draw their attention away from the resident newly released slave. "Living from moment to moment with nothing to fight for, but survival? Scrambling for the Big Score, the fast buck? You tell me." To Zero's gratitude he didn't try to use Zero's slavery to convince them though he knew it was in their minds.

"If we agree to come along, how is that any better?" Trance asked.

"It's a chance to do something important, something meaningful." Hunt told them sincerely. "And it's more than that. It's an adventure. Maybe the greatest adventure anyone has ever seen, and if we succeed, you'll go down in history. You'll be heroes."

_Heroes have to have names._ Zero thought to himself though he kept to himself since this really wasn't his decision though he wanted to stay on Andromeda.

"And if we fail we'd be dead." Beka pointed out.

"In the end we all die, when our time comes." Hunt pointed out.

Beka turned to them all. "Do you want to do this?"

"When the Divine opens a Way, who are we to question?" Rev put in philosophically.

"We're with you, Beka. Whatever you say goes, but...I think it might be kinda fun." Trance grinned.

"No offense, Beka, but have you seen the crew quarters on this thing?" Harper grinned. "Showers in every room _and_ fresh coffee!"

"Zero?" Beka asked him quietly. Zero looked up at her for a moment before standing and crossing the room to stand next to her. He pointed at himself and then to her before crossing his eyes over his chest. "What?" Beka frowned.

"He's saying that he promised to stick with you. Whatever you decide he'll back." Trance translated correctly once again. Beka looked at him and Zero nodded to show she was right.

"But what do _you_ want to do?" Beka asked him.

Zero shook his head and bared his brand once again. He gestured at the ship and then at the brand hoping that Trance would understand him once more. "I think he'd like to stay here, but he doesn't think he's vote counts for much being a slave." Trance translated before giving her own opinion on his words. "Which is utter nonsense and you should be slapped."

Zero blinked at her but offered her a small smile before turning back at Beka to nod his agreement to her translation.

"What do you say? If worse comes to worst then you can always leave." Hunt pointed out.

"You know, a lot of people will not be enchanted with this plan of yours." Beka pointed out.

"Nothing worth doing is easy." Hunt grinned.

"What the hell." Beka shrugged. "It beats doing salvage runs. You've got yourselves a crew."

"What about you?" Hunt turned to Tyr. Zero tensed.

"What about me?" Tyr growled.

"If we're going to restore the Commonwealth, we have to do it for everyone." Hunt pointed out. "Including the Nietzscheans."

"Well that's a lovely sentiment, Sir." Tyr said sarcastically. "But what's in it for me?"

"Didn't Nietzsche once say, 'The secret of reaping the greatest enjoyment from life is to live dangerously.'?" Hunt smirked like he had won.

"You read the right books." Tyr said appreciatively.

"I'm a man of many talents." Hunt grinned.

"And high ideals." Tyr grunted. "Which, frankly, is a problem. Still, I've worked for a great many fools in the past few years. Perhaps it's time for something new."

"In that case, welcome aboard. All of you." Hunt turned to smile at them.

Beka stepped forwards to shake his hand, but paused before they could meet. "We're not saluting you and we're not calling you Captain."

"Dylan, Dylan will be fine."

XOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOX

End Chapter


	3. Nova

Sacrifice

A/N; The canon events in this chapter really aren't that important just the events that happen leading up to and around them. Hope you enjoy this and recognise the speed I wrote and posted it. Enjoy.

Chapter 3; Nova

_**Andromeda Ascendant**_

It had been five days since they had agreed to stay on the _Andromeda_ as crew and after Zero and Harper had demanded two days to run over the systems the ship had taken to slowly travelling through slipstream towards Dylan Hunt's choice destination, not that Zero was really troubled by where they were going. He'd spent almost the entire first day immersed in the computer core of _Andromeda_ finding things in the physical realm that needed fixing so that Harper and he could repair them. In all he and Harper had spent the last five days working almost flat out disregarding Beka and Dylan shamelessly as they fixed whatever they wanted.

Zero outright refused to stay in the same room as Tyr purely because he didn't like Nietzscheans and Tyr responded to that but simply sneering at Zero wherever he went. He'd found a room to sleep in down one of the corridors. He'd consciously picked a place near to the work room where he'd set up an impromptu work station though there wasn't much in there at the moment. Dylan had promised to get hold of some of the computer hardware he was used to but for the time being all he could do was straighten out the kinks in _Andromeda's _software while Harper fixed her hardware.

In those days he proved his worth to Harper and through him to the others. He could work in _Andromeda's_ mind at such a pace that Harper didn't have a clue what he was doing. He could run several programmes at a time, all needing his attention without making a single mistake and pre-empt shifts in the software like a prophet. The pace tired him out quickly though and he slept deeply if not calmly.

_Crouched in a cage that was too small to stand or lie out flat waiting as Slavers passed through the gathered prisons._

_Standing amongst children surrounded by Slavers but then the scene shifted and they were all being ripped apart by Magog. Zero felt teeth bit into his throat as he tried to batter them away with rapidly weakening strikes._

_A sun burning high in the sky._

_Missiles arcing through space breaking into half a dozen each as they flew towards Andromeda slamming into her hull before she flew herself into a sun to protect herself._

_Cruel laughter. Pain straight down his spine. Fire all around him burning the bodies of the dead._

_The children surrounded once again by millions of Magog crawling other each other in their haste to devour their pray. Zero strode out straight into their midst without a fear. Magog lunging at him from all directions._

_Rev._

"Zero!" The shout made him shoot up in his bed with a gasp. He chocked on something warm and threw himself off the edge of the bed. The sheets tangled around him and he sank to the floor before coughing up blood across the floor. "Opening door."

Zero barely glanced up at the hologram of Andromeda as she stood over him. The door opened regardless of the locks and Zero looked up in the darkness to see Harper pulling a shirt over his head as he scrambled into the room. "Zero? Are you ok? Andromeda woke me up and told me she couldn't wake you."

The lights flashed on as Harper crossed the room and knelt on the floor beside him. Zero pulled himself straight but stayed on his knees. Harper caught him as a wave of dizziness struck him. He shook his head to clear it and rubbed at his throat. He pushed himself to his feet and scrambled with his baggy trousers to get them up over his underwear and then pulled a mesh shirt over his head for a modicum of decency. The other two in the room, one a human and the other a hologram, watched him in silence. Harper was clearing lurking ready to catch him if he fell.

"I think it's a trip to the infirmary for you." Holo-Andromeda declared. "Alerting Trance."

Zero shook his head to tell them not to but Harper sighed and spoke up. "You're going this time. There's more blood and I could hear you screaming from half way down the hall. Did you have to seclude yourself so much? Beka, Trance, Rev and I are happy in the same corridor."

Zero flinched at the mention of Rev and he saw a flash of children being mauled by hundreds of Magog. He blinked and the vision was gone though an echo of cruel laughter sounded in his ears. It was all so confusing. Harper dragged him from the room and down the corridor.

Trance was already in the infirmary when Harper led Zero in and she took one look at him and a shadow of sorrow passed her vibrant expression. She patted the raised bed and Zero shrugged before sitting on it. He felt a chill run down his back as a sensor scan ran down his spine taking readings of his lungs and throat. Andromeda appeared in the screen. "Should I inform the Captain?"

Zero shook his head violently but just started coughing. Trance smiled at him and then turned to shake her head at the screen. "Let's see what we can do first. If he can't be on duty tomorrow then we'll tell him."

"As you wish." She nodded before being replaced with a scrolling set of information beside an image of Zero's body. Zero couldn't read it from across the room but Trance could from her position. She narrowed her eyes at it before turning back to Zero.

"You've reopened the three from last time and another three of the total eight." Trance sighed.

Holo-Andromeda appeared beside Zero and Harper moved to sit on another of the beds. "It should be within the abilities of my medical nano-bots to heal the scars completely." She told them. "You should have asked me to do this when Harper got his rash removed."

"I don't think the thought ever occurred to him." Harper commented blandly.

Zero felt something trickling down his throat and knew they were nano-bots. He grabbed at his throat in horror and instantly Harper had him pinned to the table as he sobbed. "No!" Zero breathed the pain at forcing the words from his throat as bad as when he'd first done the damage. "Get it out."

"Zero, stop it!" Harper cried grabbing at Zero's hands and pulling them away. Zero bolted up against Harper and tried to free his hands. He got one away and scratched at the back of his neck. Harper grabbed it with surprising strength and held Zero still. "It's not there. The implant's gone!"

Zero struggled against Harper even as Trance's hands grabbed and held his shoulders before pushing him back onto the table. Harper followed him down holding his hands tightly against his chest. Zero froze up as Harper touched their foreheads together. "There's no implant. It's just medical nano-bots."

Zero stared into the eyes so close to him in realisation and relaxed. Harper pulled back but kept hold of his hands comfortingly. "What happened?" Holo-Andromeda asked.

"It's the tracking implant they placed in his neck." Harper didn't look away from Zero as he spoke.

"I detect no implant." Andromeda spoke up.

"It was an explosive one." Harper glanced up at the hologram briefly. "He cut it out of his neck. They probably implanted it as nano-bots. It would have felt the same way."

Zero nodded at him and sat up. His throat felt soft, there was none of the harshness of before, none of the pain. He took his hands back from Harper and reached up with shaking fingers to touch at his throat. "We don't expect you to start talking at a mile a minute like Harper here but at least you can if you want." Trance told him with a bright smile that Zero had to return even though it was rather tentative.

"I suggest you all try to get some more sleep." Holo-Andromeda spoke up more or less unaffected by Zero's previous terror.

"That might not be a bad idea." Harper sighed. "I hate being up this early."

XOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOX

**The next morning**

Zero couldn't sleep though he did try. The nightmare had left him tired but every time he closed his eyes he'd see a flash of shadows moving under his eyelids. Vague people he thought he should recognise from the dream but the dream had left his with nothing more than a vague sense of concern. Something about children and Magog. And Rev.

He eventually pulled himself out of bed and showered and changed into a cotton t-shirt with torn off sleeves and leather trousers that definitely didn't make him look like a Slave. He stopped to look out of his window at the stars and remembered part of his dream again. A Sun hanging high in the sky.

"Zero?" He turned to look at the Holograph of the core computer and raised an eyebrow. "I'd like you to come up to med deck before you start on any projects. I found something strange in your blood and Captain Hunt wants to talk about it."

Zero frowned but shrugged before heading out of the room. Who knew what the Slavers had put in him? The Med Deck was filled with people when he arrived. Dylan was talking to Beka while Harper and Trance sat on the beds waiting for him. Zero slipped in like a ghost and was behind Harper and Trance before Andromeda appeared as a hologram in the centre of the room.

"Zero didn't realise that everyone had appeared." She told them. Zero grunted his agreement unused to being able to talk without it hurting. It was a novel idea for him even if it had only been a year. Harper and Trance jumped with similar shrieks and Harper even swore before being slapped on the shoulder by Trance for his choice of words.

"Harper was kind enough to tell me what happened last night." Beka told him. "It's good to know you're healed."

There was a moments silence as they all looked at him and he narrowed his eyes at the ground at Beka's feet unwilling to glare at his boss. Dylan muttered something unintelligible before turning to Andromeda. "What was it you found? Something to worry about?"

"When my nano-bots repaired the cells around his throat they detected a small genetic anomaly within all of his cells. A small discrepancy in his DNA strands." She told them. "Each of his cells has a single strand of non-human DNA."

"And that means what?" Beka was suddenly looking worried.

"I don't know." She shook her head. "I'm running a search for similar information in my database. So far as I know the DNA is completely inert but sensor scans indicate that some cells have more of the DNA and seem to have woven themselves into the human DNA."

"Where?"

"His vocal chords show a higher degree of mutation. His bones and muscles also." Andromeda showed no emotion on her face but the rest of the room looked rather surprised. "I believe that the DNA in his muscles and bones raise the physical strength of both like a symbiotic creature would."

"Is it natural?" Trance asked.

"Zero body doesn't seem to have made any effort to remove the DNA and his cells are building the strand in from the base pairs up. As far as I know the DNA is in fact his." She told them. "Do you know about anything I just said?"

Zero frowned and looked at the ground before looking back up and forcing his mouth open. He tried a few time to form words and the others were patient. Eventually he managed to get the words across without too much mutilation. "No. This is new."

Harper smiled across at him and Zero smiled back weakly wondering at the realisation that he didn't feel any pain in his throat, just a dull ache. Zero looked back to Beka and Dylan with a shrug. "How long will the search take?" Dylan asked the hologram.

"A few hours possibly." She told him.

"I'll help." Zero was eager at the chance to find out something about his past. They gave him encouraging looks as he ducked out of the room so he could be in a private place when he jacked into the core network.

XOXOXOXOXOXOXOX

**A few hours later**

Zero stood in the centre of the vast cavern of Andromeda's mind surrounded in hanging holographic projections of images and files in a dozen different languages. He was continuously bringing them forwards and rejecting them. Throwing them back at Andromeda's archives when they weren't useful and letting her throw new ones into his pile. There was so much information here, it was utterly unbelievable and this was only what was linked to alien DNA inside host cells.

Something caught his eyes and he exploded the file so he could read it properly. It was a DNA database for a planet of the Commonwealth but he didn't know how the codes for the planets went. He banished all of the other files to a safe distance and opened the file out. It split into eight sub files all full of DNA types. He opened the first one and ran a side search of the file for anomalies and when that gave him a huge list he narrowed it to just non-medical ones matching his own situation. The list emptied and he closed that sub group and moved to the next.

It was the third and final human group that gave him something. The file held only a few subgroups unlike the first two and when he put in his search parameters it narrowed down to a small section of names. Still several hundred but remarkably small compared to the millions of groups in the lists previously checked. The files didn't hold individual DNA but rather types of DNA. Family groups, area groups and so on.

"Andromeda." Zero spoke up and instantly she appeared in front of him and studied the file.

"The information matched your own situation though the alien DNA in each is different."

"Run a match on the alien DNA against the other sub groups." Zero said hoping to identify the alien DNA. The few hundred he had found opened up and other DNA groups appeared with special markers for each. He selected one and opened the file of the species. It was an animal completely unrelated to the human host of the DNA. "I don't know if I want to ask this, Andromeda."

"Running match." Andromeda nodded slowly and instantly Zero's DNA file was in front of him while the other files were pushed down to the ground temporarily out of the way but still open. A half second later one of the sub files pushed a file up to match Zero's alien DNA. "Your alien DNA matches that of a _Melanistic Panthera Pardus_ of the _Felidae_ Family."

"That made no sense to me whatsoever." Zero told her bluntly. "Run a scan in your databanks for a more common name."

"The _Panthera Pardus_ is more commonly known as a Leopard. Members of the _Panthera_ subgroup were known to be Melanistic, or black, in colour and were commonly referred to as Black Panthers regardless of species." Andromeda lectured. Zero stared at her for a moment trying to make any sense of that.

"Search your database for a picture of that _Panthera_…whatever it was." Zero shook his head letting Andromeda do all the work.

"File found." She told him and Zero's file sunk to the ground to let another appeared from the right. A holograph appeared on the floor but didn't move. It was a cat, Zero realised suddenly. A rather beautiful cat. Slick black fur, sharp teeth and muscles clearly designed for speed and power.

"Fine, so I'm part Black Panther?" Zero asked. "What does that mean?"

She shook her head at him. "The information on this sub group of humans is incomplete."

"Ok, what was the planet?"

"Earth." She told him. "Entered the Commonwealth in 56,212."

"Earth?" Zero was shocked. "As in where Harper was born?" She nodded. "Run a precise match on Earth specific DNA sequences and Harper's and my own."

"Find out if you're from Earth?" She asked suddenly looking eager.

"It's a long shot but it could be an answer." Zero looked at her.

"It'll take time to run a more complete comparison but I'll be able to tell you for sure whether your DNA originates from Earth." She told him.

Zero nodded and jacked out. He found Harper in his workshop fiddling with coils of cables, splicing the ends to repair a power conduit in the access tunnels around the Control Room that had been damaged in the fight between Tyr and Dylan. "Oh good, you're out. I'm going to need your help to fix this."

Zero looked at Harper in a new light. If he and Andromeda were right then he and Harper had both come from Earth. Harper was only twenty-four, only two years older than him. Had they even known each other? Zero realised there was a bond between them like he'd never seen before. A need for him to be connected to Harper in some way, the same need that wanted him to call him Seamus as he preferred the name. He shook his head to clear it before nodding at the waiting man. "Lets go." Zero said tentatively.

"I could definitely get used to hearing your voice." Harper grinned before going suddenly red. Zero smiled at him since that had sounded far worse than it was probably intended.

Zero watched Harper walk passed him carrying the coil in his hands and couldn't help but stare. He realised he was staring and rushed to catch up to the mechanic.

XOXOXOXOXOXOXOX

Zero was slowly connecting wires with a soldering laser while Harper was working at the other end of the line. Tyr really hadn't been subtle and even if this line wasn't exactly hugely important it did need fixing and it wouldn't take them long.

Zero pulled away the laser before lining up the next connection. He found himself doing it without concentrating which was unlike him but each time he tried to concentrate he found his eyes blurring. The lines all mixing together into one line.

_Dozens of children standing back to back surrounded in hordes of Magog._

_Zero walking out from the midst of the children, walking through the Magog as they all launched themselves at him. Rev's face crying out in pain._

_A sun high over a planet. Zero looked around himself hearing the shuffling of Magog swarming the area._

_Floating in space in front of an impossibly bright sun. Deathly silent. Impossibly hot. Waves of fire as it blew out like a balloon before utterly exploding. Zero threw up a hand to shield his eyes and felt heat burn through his skin._

Zero hit the tunnel wall and sunk to the ground. "Zero!" Harper cried out. "Andromeda, medical emergency!"

An alarm rent the air as Zero cradled his hand. He was on the other side of the tunnel to where he was working and smoke rose from it. He couldn't feel his hand at all though he definitely had felt it burn. He looked down at it even though he was already cradling it tightly with his left hand. It was completely blackened and for the life of him he couldn't move his fingers.

"_Harper! Zero! What have you done!?"_ Beka's voice came over the speakers courtesy of Andromeda.

"We didn't do anything!" Harper defended. "Zero was electrocuted."

Zero pulled himself up onto his knees. He was having trouble getting the Supernova out of his eyes. It seemed to be the part of the dream he was missing from when Andromeda had woken him from his nightmare even though the details of the nightmare were rather vague. He remembered children being preyed on by the Magog and he remembered seeing Rev's face amongst them all. Then the sun over a planet exploding. The sun in his dream had burned him and now his hand was burnt though by all the evidence it was in fact an electrical burn. Just a coincidence then. Or had he seen that vision after being electrocuted and it was just all around the wrong way in his head.

"Andromeda?" Harper was kneeling beside Zero running a scan on his hand with a sensor tool. "Run a diagnostic on the new circuit."

"_Power surge at 13:22:07. Levels complicit with third degree burns." _Her voice told them over the speakers. The alarm suddenly ended and Trance ducked into the tunnel with a medical pack in her hand. She crouched beside Zero and gently pushed him back to sit on the floor.

"Cause?" Zero managed out.

"_No cause known." _She told him.

"The circuit shouldn't have been powered. Zero, didn't you cut it off from the mainframe."

Zero nodded before Andromeda could speak. "_The circuit was dead until the surge and is now inactive."_

"Random?" Harper shook his head. "Maybe you have more kinks in your system then we realised." He was rewarded with silence.

"How do you feel?" Trance asked.

"I don't." He told her bluntly. "I can't feel my hand."

"The shock must have short-circuited your nerves." Trance told him.

"Bet that'll hurt when your nerves kick back in." Harper tried to smirk but he didn't seem able to.

"No it won't." Trance said before jabbing an injection gun against Zero's wrist just above the burn. He felt a chill go up his arm before the whole thing went dead.

Almost fifteen minutes later Zero was propped up on a bed on Med Deck with his right arm encased in a med unit. Harper was lingering at his side nervously as if he was to blame for it. Beka and Dylan were there as well as Rev and Trance as they all seemed rather worried about him.

"So we don't know what happened?" Dylan asked. "Just a power surge."

"Oh yes, a power surge in a dead circuit." Harper grumbled.

"The logs say that there was a power surge but it appeared from nowhere." Holo-Andromeda spoke after appearing.

"How is that possible?" Dylan asked.

"Feedback could have damaged my sensors and blinded me to the power build up." Andromeda offered.

"I want that checked out." Dylan told Harper and Zero.

"Just as soon as my hand works." Zero said quietly.

"Zero, I have the results from the DNA search." Andromeda told him. "Harper's DNA matches perfectly with one of the sub-groups from Earth."

"Well obviously." Beka laughed.

"Zero's DNA also matches." Andromeda told them. "As far as I can tell he was born from an Earth family."

Harper stared at Zero in shock. Zero just shrugged. "Just as likely as anywhere else."

"That's awesome!" Harper grinned childishly and looked almost as if he wanted to hug him. Zero felt disappointed when he didn't though he'd never really been a fan of hugs unless from Izus, Joseph or Calamy. As far as he knew.

"Zero's DNA definitely is human but when I tried to search the Commonwealth Database for his particular situation I hit a blank." She told him. "Top clearance. My database doesn't even hold the information."

Zero sighed but shrugged. "Thanks." He told her eventually.

"So what _did_ you two work out about the alien DNA?" Beka asked.

"There was a DNA sub group on Earth at the fall of the Commonwealth whose defining feature was the presence of animal DNA amongst the human ones. The animals were all original to Earth even after the introduction of other species." Andromeda lectured.

"Did you manage to find out what DNA you have?" Beka asked.

"Panthera Pardus." Andromeda spoke up to save Zero from having to strain his less than commonly used voice. "The Melanistic variety."

"Panthera?" Harper frowned. "As in a Panther? What type?"

"A Leopard, commonly known as the Black Panther." Andromeda told him.

"I know them." Harper narrowed his eyes. "The Nietzscheans liked to breed them though they weren't much more than domesticate house cats. The Magog wiped them all out."

"The Magog do not like felines of that nature." Rev spoke up. "It is a fear as old as the Magog are."

"You're scared of a pussy cat?" Beka laughed.

"The original Black Panther were vicious and deadly." Harper corrected her. "We used to make cut outs of them to scare off the Magog raiding parties. Didn't work all that well but we liked it all the same."

"It is as much the smell as anything else." Rev nodded. "Even I cannot completely cover my fear of a cat though I have seen very few and all were too small to scare me."

"That's why you growled at Zero back on the _Maru_?" Trance suddenly spoke up for the first time. "When Harper made that crack about Slaves and Zero growled at him? I thought it sounded like an angry cat."

"My instincts got the better of me I am afraid." Rev turned to Zero and Zero had to blink away the teeming masses of Magog standing behind Rev. Zero nodded at him to show it didn't bother him.

"This is so cool!" Harper bounced on the balls of his feet. "I mean, the Magog are scared of Zero! No offence Rev."

"None taken." Rev nodded with his claws clasped in front of him.

"So, Zero can growl like this…what did you call it? Black Panther?" Dylan asked.

Andromeda nodded at him. "It would explain the heightened DNA presence in your voice box and presumably the levels in your bones and muscles heighten your speed and strength."

"Sounds fascinating." Zero spoke up as everyone thought about this. "Don't we have work to do?"

Dylan laughed. "That's normally my line."

"Feel free." Zero told him sarcastically.

"You weren't so sarcastic when you were mute." Beka told him. Zero just watched her until she grew nervous and dragged Dylan from the room. Rev nodded to Zero before following her out. It was another half an hour before Trance declared him fully healed so that he and Harper could return to fixing the systems.

XOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOX

**The next day**

Zero gritted breathed out a sigh of relief as the Andromeda lurched out of Slipstream and Zero could let go of the controls and focus on the real world once again. He instantly noted the position of Tyr at the weapons console and the Nietzschean leered back at him knowing what he was doing.

Zero turned back to the controls and let Andromeda guide the ship towards the Drift they were here for. "It's called GS92196." Dylan was saying. "It's a Guard Station for starship service and repair. A real jewel in the Commonwealth crown."

Zero focused on his piloting letting it sooth his suddenly nervous anticipation. He looked to the left of the view window at the sun, dull in the sky. It was an old sun, nearing the last decades or so of its life. He typed out a message on the pad on the side of the chair. "Private question, Andromeda. What is the status of the sun? What are the risks of Supernova."

He glanced down at the little screen as Andromeda appeared in the other side screen and nodded at him. "Extremely low." It read. "Sun is stable."

She looked at him in question and he shrugged. "Just a bad feeling." He typed to her. She smiled at him before vanishing.

"Those are Magog Assault ships." Tyr declared as they passed through the debris field around the Drift.

"This is the Commonwealth Starship _Andromeda_ hailing guard station niner-two-one-niner-six. Please respond." Dylan paused in the message but they didn't get anything in response. "Guard station, are you reading me?"

"Whoever's on that Drift probably can't even breathe let alone signal back." Beka pointed out.

"Nietzschean slavers have been here too." Tyr spoke up again. Zero tensed and growled before he could help it. Rev turned to look at him suddenly and seemed to force himself to calm down. Beka, Dylan, Trance and Harper were looking at him in part wonder and part concern before turning back to the task at hand.

"Take us in slowly, Zero." Zero nodded at Dylan and ignored the rest of the conversation as he guided the ship around the larger bits of debris and towards a docking cradle that Andromeda picked for him.

XOXOXOXOXOXOXOX

**Half an hour later**

Zero walked slowly and quietly with his Force Lance ready to attack. The dock they'd used was full of the signs of battle and he'd already walked over the dead bodies of Magog.

Zero was the first to duck as he heard the whine of weapons and a dozen streaks of laser blast rocketed over his head as the others took cover. He took a side step, spun low and ploughed through Harper who was moving too slow. A blast landed where he'd just been just as he and Harper went rolling behind a large barrel. Harper's arms came up to hold onto Zero through instinct alone before he let him go only to find his weapon on the floor.

Zero took that in before rolling into a crouch. He placed a hand on Harper's chest to tell him to hold still. Harper grumbled out about being man-handled but he had a teasing tone to his voice. "I'm glad we left Tyr and Rev behind. I'd hate to tick off the locals." Beka spoke rather sarcastically from behind her own barrel. Dylan was behind another.

"They must think we're Magog!" Dylan shouted back.

"Assuming _they _aren't Magog." Zero called back softly with his ever louder voice.

"This is Dylan Hunt!" Dylan shouted at their attackers who were still firing at them. "Captain of the High Guard Ship Andromeda. We come in peace."

Suddenly they were in silence, the shots had stopped instantly but Zero didn't relax nor did he let Harper up when he tried to move. Harper struggled half-heartedly for a moment before relenting.

"They've stopped shooting." Beka commented rather pointlessly.

"Yeah," Harper grumbled. "They've probably gone to get bigger guns." Zero laughed quickly and smiled down at the other man.

"Hail the High Guard!" A chant of voice sounded. "Hail the High Guard!"

People began to emerge from every corner of the room and Zero slowly stood and let Harper rise. Zero scooped up his gun and handed it back. "Thanks for the macho protectors gig." Harper grinned at him. Zero blushed slightly and looked around. Harper grinned and brushed his hand on Zero bare arm to show he was actually serious. Zero studied the approaching people. They were children. None much older than Zero.

A frail looking girl stepped out of their midst and Zero frowned. He remember children in his dreams. "Is it really you?" She asked staring at Dylan in abject wonder.

"I'm Captain Dylan Hunt." Dylan tried.

"High Guard?" She asked.

"I'm a High Guard officer, yes." Dylan frowned.

Zero couldn't get rid of the sense of dread and it threatened to overwhelm him. "Dylan." Zero spoke quietly but as was the way with him recently he got the man's attention instantly. They still weren't that used to hearing his voice. "I'll go tell the others that we've met the locals."

Dylan frowned at him but saw that Zero needed to get away and nodded. Zero turned back to Harper and shrugged. "Be careful." Zero told him before slipping back the way they had come. He wanted to stay with Harper and Beka to protect them but he was worried that he was going to do something awful. He could remember himself walking out from the children and into the midst of surrounding Magog and then all he could remember was being mauled and the burning of the sun as it exploded.

XOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOX

**A few days later**

Zero sat on the control deck in the pilot's chair. Things seemed to be taking a bad turn for Zero's head in the way of his dreams. He kept seeing the same thing in his nightmares as well as a dozen new ones of every kind. All of them hard to remember in any detail.

"You're hiding again." Harper spoke up making him jump suddenly. He hadn't noticed the other man arrive.

"The control deck isn't really the best place to hide." Zero told him as he turned the chair to look at him.

"I don't mean like that." Harper told him. "I mean from us. What is it you saw on the Drift to worry you so much?"

Zero sighed and leant back in the chair as he studied his new friend carefully. He looked genuinely like he wanted to know. Zero shrugged. "I have a bad feeling."

"Oh dear." Harper winced and hopped up onto the arm of the chair carefully avoiding the Slipstream joists. He set one foot on the seat of the chair for balance as Zero moved to the side to accommodate him. "Like the last one before we found _Andromeda_."

"I wasn't that forthcoming with that one." Zero sighed. "Look, Seamus. If I tell you something can you promise to keep it to yourself and not tell Dylan or Beka. They'll think I've gone insane."

Harper studied him for a moment before nodding, accepting the use of his first name. "Ok." Harper nodded. "Andromeda, activate privacy mode. Authorisation Harper -1798."

"_Privacy mode engaged. Authorisation Harper-1798."_ She spoke before fading. Not even Andromeda would hear this now.

"I didn't just have a bad feeling about that black hole. Do you remember that nightmare I had in you cabin on the _Maru_?"

"How could I forget?" Harper winced. "You scared the life out of me."

"I dreamt of being the Andromeda, of being attacked by a fleet of Nietzschean ships around that planet. Of flying into the black hole. Then one minute I'm being torn apart and then I'm being blinded by a flash of light just like when we turned it into a white hole." Zero told him seriously.

"Well…that's…" Harper trailed off. Zero crossed his arms over his chest.

"Don't believe me then, I don't care." Zero told him.

"I do believe you." Harper assured him quickly. "Just don't quite understand it."

"Well, I had another one the other night and I keep seeing it every time I close my eyes." Zero sighed. "I dreamt of loads of things but one thing stands out more than the rest. Children surrounded in Magog and then a sun over a planet of Magog. I missed the ending when Andromeda woke me up but I saw the rest the other day when we were working in the tunnel. I saw the sun go Supernova."

"Huh?" Harper's eyes widened.

"I put my right hand up to block it and I felt it burn." Zero tensed. "Seamus, that was just before I got that shock from the system. It can't just be coincidence!"

"What is it then?" Harper asked.

"I don't know. Maybe something's wrong with me?" Zero sighed. "Maybe I'm screwed up more than I thought."

His last words were muttered so low Harper only just heard them. He reached out with his arm and pulled Zero into a sideways hug. Zero tensed for a moment before turning into the hug putting his arms around Harper's waist as the other man lowered head onto Zero's own. "I don't think I belong out here." Zero said quietly.

"Well I can't imagine being out here without you." Harper grinned as he pulled back from the hug. "Can you imagine how much I'd have to fix on my own?"

Zero laughed and smiled at Harper in thanks. "Thank, Seamus."

"Do you have to call me Seamus?"

"What about Shay?" Zero asked unsure about himself in this conversation.

"Sure. That's ok." Harper grinned. "Just not around Beka or the others."

"_Privacy mode disengaged."_ Andromeda announced. Harper sprung off of the side of the seat and almost fell flat on his face. Andromeda appeared in front of them. "Two Slipfighters have launched. Both carrying Nova Bombs."

"Is the Captain on board?" Zero asked.

"Confirmed." Andromeda told him.

"Break couplings, pilot control to me." Zero announced. As soon as he'd heard the words 'Nova Bombs' he'd seen it for what it was. They were planning on destroying an entire system with them. The Supernova of his dreams.

Zero inverted the ship in an instant to face away from the Drift and threw the engines forwards. "Fighters have entered Slipstream."

Dylan ran into the room in time to hear this and evidently didn't mind that Zero had broken from the Drift to pursue. "Follow them in."

"Entering Slipstream." Zero announced as he activated the route sent to the chair from Andromeda. The ship lurched into Slipstream and Zero let the world fade until it was just the ship and the tendrils of Slipstream. He'd give more than his sense of self to stop them from carrying out his nightmares.

He could see the two Slipfighters and was able to follow them even though some of the paths they took were too small for him to follow. They were slightly faster through Slipstream though and when Zero brought the _Andromeda_ back into conventional space they were a long way ahead.

"We can only retrieve one ship at a time." Rev spoke up. "Which one?"

Zero was pushing the _Andromeda _through space with deft hands on the tail of the two Slipfighters though they were splitting apart ever so slightly to aim for the two suns of the solar system. Their intention was beyond question now. Zero would chase the both until he was given a choice.

"Right!" Dylan ordered and Zero shifted his hands to jerk the ship around on the quickest course.

"Left!" Trance shouted an instant later. Zero frowned but stayed in a course where he didn't lose too much time. "Um…It's just a choice. You know? Fifty-fifty?"

"You heard the lady, Zero." Dylan ordered. "Move to intercept. Maybe that will deter the other one."

Zero jerked the ship around on it's axis and spun the ship onto one side to hone in on the left hand ship so that the change of direction didn't lose them any time. It took a split second for Andromeda to counter the inertial forces and the others jerked violently since they hadn't expected the move.

"Harpoons ready." Harper reported from fire control.

"First ship in range." Rev reported as soon as Zero had closed the gap between them and the Slipfighter.

"Fire!" Dylan ordered and Harper did just that. The harpoons shot out from the _Andromeda_ and snagged around the Slipfighter. Zero instantly changed the course slightly to pull against the cables gently to first pull it off course and then let the harpoons pull the small ship in. "Trance, go see to the pilot. Zero, go for the second one."

Zero jerked the ship around as soon as he knew the harpoons wouldn't break and shot after the other but he already knew it was too late. "We're losing him." Harper told them.

"He's almost reached the sun." Holo-Andromeda reported as she appeared in front of the screen.

"Can we destroy it?" Dylan asked.

"My missiles will never reach it in time." She told her Captain. "This system is doomed and if we're not careful the chain reaction will catch us too."

"We have to try." Dylan told them. Zero nodded but didn't take his attention from slipping through space. They were closing but they'd never catch it in time.

"We're not going to make it." Harper shook his head miserably before glancing at Zero worriedly. Zero saw the look but ignored it.

"He's still out of range. We have to turn around." Andromeda told Dylan simply.

"Zero! Hard 180!" Dylan shouted without looking at him. "Maximum Delta Vee."

Zero frowned but didn't instantly move. He wanted to keep chasing, to stop them from carrying out his nightmare. "Zero! You can't stop it!" Harper yelled at him. "Zero! Get us out of here!"

His words slammed home and the _Andromeda_ lurched as Zero inverted her again and slammed her engines into gear. He knew that Dylan had been about to order Andromeda to seize control.

The left screen changed to see the sun and an instant before they entered Slipstream it exploded outwards as it went Supernova. Zero gritted his teeth before jerking the ship into Slipstream for a rather rougher ride than normal.

They slipped out of Slipstream back near the Drift and Zero released the piloting joists so that Andromeda could guide them in. "What the hell just happened, Zero?" Dylan rounded on him.

Zero got out of the chair and stepped away from the tall man. "Leave him alone." Harper came to his rescue. "It's not his fault."

"I want to know." Dylan told him.

"Zero?" Beka joined in.

"Why does it matter? Billions of Magog are dead because we weren't fast enough. I didn't pay enough attention." Zero told them and turned to leave the room.

"It's private." Harper snapped as Beka opened her mouth to argue. "Come on Zero. I need some help."

Zero followed Harper from the room but Beka caught up to them quickly. "Tyr's rigged all the equipment to the Slipfighters. I need one of you to set up the software."

"I'll do it." Zero told her without looking at her.

"Zero…" Beka started before shaking off whatever she wanted to ask. "Whatever just happened, just be careful."

Zero looked up at her slowly and steadily but nodded. "You can do it from my workshop." Harper told him before starting to drag him down the corridor.

"Harper, wait!" Beka leapt forwards with a worried look. "These kids, they have to be stopped." Harper just stared at her. "There's no justification for genocide."

"Tell that to the Magog." Harper told her. Zero realised what was behind the argument. Harper hated the Magog enough to agree with what these kids wanted to do.

"Harper, I didn't grow up on Earth." Beka told him sympathetically. "But I understand how you must feel."

"No, you don't." Harper snapped harsher than Zero had ever heard him. "Listen, I had two cousins…Declan and Siobhan. They were twins actually, about my age. We grew up together, you know? We used to share between us whatever little scraps we could find. And then the Magog came. And these Magog didn't have the courtesy to just kill and eat my cousins. No, my cousins were left alive, paralysed, to host little Magog eggs that fed on their insides and grew until my family had two choices. Either kill my own cousins, or wait for the Magog to hatch and kill us. So, you know what? I say 'Good on them!' Good on these kids."

Zero glared at Beka and she flinched. Zero had never felt the desire to glare at any of them and it evidently took her by surprise. When he calmed himself he realised that Harper was already half way down the corridor. Zero took off after him and as soon as they were around the corner he slung an arm around his back and hugged him gently. "I think I understand. You hate the Magog like I hate the Nietzscheans. Maybe it's better that I don't remember what happened when I was a kid or I might hate the Magog too."

"Everyone hates the Magog." Harper told him.

"I personally don't." Zero shrugged.

Harper rounded on him just as they entered their rooms. "How can you say that?"

"Rev's the only one I've ever met." Zero shrugged. "I hate them for what they've done to you but I don't hate Rev."

"For a four year old you're very clever." Harper slumped slightly. Zero moved forwards and hugged him gently. Harper hugged him back before pulling away and jumping slightly on the spot. "We need to get to work."

"Uh…Shay?" Zero asked as he looked down at the work bench and at the body on it. The android. "What's that for?"

"It's Andromeda." Harper told him.

"I can see that." Zero laughed. "The tri-personality?"

"Exactly, the Ship-made-flesh." Harper grinned victoriously.

"But Andromeda doesn't have the plans, it stops her from creating an army of them." Zero pointed out.

"Ah…but the Drift has thousands of maintenance records. The kids think they're laws and things." Harper grinned. "I need your help to connect her completely with the ship. I could do it but….you're better."

"It pains you to say that doesn't it?" Zero grinned at him. "Don't worry, I wouldn't know the first thing about putting this together."

Harper grinned widely and bounced back to work. Zero made his way to a terminal and jacked in so he could deal with both matters before him. The first would be easy but the second could take hours.

XOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOX

**The next day**

Zero and Harper were still working on the last touches of the Ship-made-flesh when they heard a noise at the door as it was opened. They turned as one to find three kids standing there with guns out. Zero didn't even try to go for his since the kids looked serious.

"Whoa there!" Harper held up his hands. "Where's your babysitters?"

"Move it." The eldest one ordered. Zero obediently stepped forwards but his hand reached backwards for an instant and switched off the bed the android was lying on which was also restricting her power supply so they could work. He stepped away and saw Harper catch on and do the same. "Come on!" The boy ordered again.

"Just don't kill them." Zero said simply. The boy frowned at him before a blur shot passed Zero and disarmed them all in a second. Zero grabbed the boy, spun him around and held him tight against his chest so he couldn't move. Harper rather haphazardly grabbed the younger girl and the small ten year old boy was left to stare at them all in shock. "I think she works."

"Do you know who you are?" Harper asked.

"I am _Andromeda Ascendant_. High Guard Glorious Class Heavy Cruiser." She told them.

"This is so cool." Harper grinned.

"Down boy." Zero teased before dumping the eighteen year old he was holding onto the bed. Harper dropped the girl on another. Zero picked up the ten year old and placed him on his older compatriot. "Andromeda, increase gravity to hold them."

She nodded and blinked. An instant later their arms and legs were fastened to the bed. They couldn't even move their heads. "Internal sensors are down." She told them both.

"Harper, you take her up to command and deal with whatever this is." Zero told him. "I'll fix the internal sensors and meet you up there."

Harper nodded and left him with the three captives. Zero made quick work of redirecting the power to the internal sensors and jogged up to the control deck in time to see a dozen or so kids attached to the floor and a newly covered android standing over them. "I'd say she works rather well." Zero commented.

He monitored the transmissions and Dylan ordered 'Rommie' to take control of the Arc Slipfighters, eject the pilots and then self-destruct them. Zero grinned at the screen and felt relief that the Nova-bombs were gone.

"Everybody get some rest." Dylan ordered. "Zero, I want to talk to you after you've had some sleep." Zero eyed him but nodded.

XOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOX

**Later**

Zero walked into the observation deck and across the room to where Dylan was leaning against the railings. He'd slept for a while but very restlessly. He'd seen an exploding sun again but he'd scene something else too. Something just as worrying.

"You wanted to see me?" Zero prompted when the man didn't acknowledge him.

Dylan jumped. "You're ridiculously quiet."

"Must be the Panther genes." Zero pointed out.

"I want to know if whatever happened back there will happen again." Dylan asked.

"Not if I can help it." Zero told him honestly. "I don't know how to say this. Harper believes me but I don't know how much of that is just his new-found knowledge that I'm from Earth."

"I think I can take it." Dylan smiled ironically.

"Before we found you I dreamed of the battle between you and the Nietzschean Armada. I dreamt of the crew evacuating, flying into the black hole. I even dreamed of the white hole we created." Zero told him slowly. "And it all happened."

"Well…that's…" Dylan looked shocked.

"A few nights ago I dreamt of these children surrounded by Magog. They lashed out into the Magog and I saw the Supernova." Zero sighed. "That was my nightmare. Except I dreamt of the Supernova when working in the tunnel. I blocked it with my hand and felt it burn and came too after that accident."

"You seem to have an uncanny ability to guess the future." Dylan offered.

"So it seems." Zero shrugged. "It's never happened to me before." Dylan really didn't look all that convinced. "You kept one of the Nova Bombs."

"What?" Dylan's eyebrows shot up.

"Are you denying it?" Zero asked. "Personally I'd rather be wrong, then I could just put this down to strange nightmares."

"I did keep one just in case." Dylan admitted. "Did you dream that too?"

"Just now. I saw another sun exploding, a different one." Zero told him. "And I saw you putting a Nova Bomb aware. You're going to use it."

"I can't ever see a situation needing one." Dylan defended himself.

"Nor can I, but if these dreams are real then you will do. Or at least somebody will." Zero shook his head to clear it.

"I can imagine it's rather unnerving." Dylan laughed. Zero sighed and sat down on a bench that looked out of the window.

"You know, I only have four years of my life to take from and it's all pain and torture for the most part. The few bits that were happy had to be hid since they became a weakness. My master made a mistake and it led me here." Zero sighed.

"Is that a good thing or not?" Dylan asked as he sat beside him.

"So far, I'm not so sure. It's not worth that mistake yet." Zero rubbed at his nose to ease the tension.

"What was the mistake?" Dylan asked.

"I'm not ready to tell you that yet." Zero told him.

"Was it the same thing that caused you to lose your voice?" Dylan asked.

Zero stood and turned away from him. "No, compared to that mistake, what happened to cause that is nothing." Zero turned to the door. "If I'm still welcome as a member of your crew I wish to be dismissed. There is a long list of things I need to get from that station if you want Andromeda to keep being able to add two and two."

Dylan chuckled but nodded. "Zero?" Zero turned back to him. "No matter what, you'll always be welcome on my ship."

XOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOX

End Chapter


	4. The feeling of failure

Sacrifice

Chapter 4; The feeling of failure

**Andromeda – Zero's lab**

Zero leaned back in his chair as the ship came out of yet another slipstream passage. They'd been bouncing around for about a week now, Zero and Harper had spent yet again another exhausting week fixing up the ship's systems and Zero now had a lab of his own to work from. Two cores sat to one side of the room as well as two banks of computers. One was a standalone while the other was linked directly into Andromeda's mainframe.

He'd just spent three hours jacked into the standalone creating a new virus to input into Andromeda's bank of defensive viruses so that she could use it if the need arrived. It was designed to purge her temporary memory so it wasn't something to be used unless something had gained entry. He always worked on viruses on the standalone so that if he made one of his very rare mistakes it couldn't spread out of this single computer. He'd made up a large selection of viruses that were all stored on data-chips with corresponding flexis with their designs and make up stored on them. In fact he'd need a new storage cradle for them soon.

He spun his desk around and steeled himself for what he was about to do. He'd found a problem with the AI's automated shut down sequence. It was a system that allowed Andromeda to shut down her computer networks at the first sign of an overwhelming EMP burst without the Captain's permission but it was slightly faulty. He'd told Dylan that he would need to shut down the AI for an hour at most but that he'd still have power for other systems.

Zero would repair the system but he had a slightly underhanded task to do as well. Before he went to work he slid a data chip into the core he'd need but didn't let it download. Andromeda would sense that instantly and query the foreign file. The only way to get a virus into her core without her knowing was for her to be shut down. He wouldn't waste this opportunity.

He jacked in and almost instantly found himself in the vast cavern of Andromeda's mind. Her holographic form was standing in front of him. "We have arrived at a suitably safe destination." She told him demurely.

"Anxiety in an AI. Still very impressive, Andromeda." Zero complimented.

"Funny." Andromeda narrowed her eyes at him. "That was sarcasm in an AI."

"And humour." Zero grinned at her. "Would you tell Dylan I'm ready to begin? I'll reboot you as soon as I'm done."

She nodded at him. "Shutting down in five...four...three...two...one." She vanished and almost half the lights and programmes spanning the cavern went dark. Zero now had complete control of her computer core. He could do anything he wanted and Andromeda couldn't see it or stop him. He could open a program and vent the air in the ship, he could fire the ship's 

missiles, navigate it through Slipstream and nobody could stop him. They were all trusting him and he felt horrible about what he was about to do to break that trust but what he was doing was far more important to him than whether they ever trusted him again. This wasn't about him, it was about Izus and Joseph and he knew without a doubt that he'd accept death as punishment for this as long as they were freed.

He uploaded his virus and it burst open in front of him and spread throughout Andromeda's system. Unopposed by any of Andromeda's systems it spread without resistance before vanishing from sight, hidden until he called for it. Not even Andromeda could find it now. It was designed specifically to hide from Andromeda.

After it had been set he started work on the legitimate reason for being here but even though he did it perfectly he couldn't stop imagining what Harper and Beka would think of him if he knew what he was planning. That was why he couldn't ask for their help.

He rebooted Andromeda and ran from her before she could detect his heart rate and brainwaves. He put his head down on his arms feigning exhaustion to hide his wet eyes from Andromeda's all seeing eyes. He didn't realised he'd fallen asleep until he was jerked awake by Andromeda's insistent calling of his name. Zero blinked the after image of that dream out of his mind hoping it wasn't like his other dreams. He'd been getting them almost constantly, every time he slept he got flashes of images he didn't recognise. Some of them involved space ships while others were about people. None of them were clear and he'd given up trying to describe them to Dylan, Beka, Trance, Harper or Rev since they were almost always really disjointed.

He sometimes woke with either manic laughter or terrified screaming in his ears and neither was pleasant for him. This time though he only got the impression of something lurking in the dark and as he blinked sleep out of his eyes he could swear he'd seen the pale face of Harper. He'd seen plenty of Slaves die through exhaustion or beatings and the pallor of a dying man was unmistakable.

Andromeda was waiting for him patiently and he blinked up at her. "Dreams again?" She asked.

"Ern." Zero grunted without answering. "Did you need something?"

"Harper wants your help on a relay to the number eight collector." She told him.

"Oh wonderful." Zero told her. "Thanks, tell him I'll be right there."

"Your heartbeat is racing." She told him bluntly.

"And?" Zero responded bluntly before pushing himself to his feet and heading for the door. He locked it behind him before turning towards the nearest access to the next deck down. "I've tried everything possible to sleep, Rommie. Ever since I stepped onto this ship I've been having those dreams and most of them I don't even remember. And I don't know whether they're visions of the past like the first one of the Nietzschean ambush or one of the 

future like that Supernova. Hell, Rommie, some of it might be my own memories. I've given up trying to work it out."

"Trance has suggested to Dylan that we sedate you." She suggested even as her hologram appeared in front of him.

"Do you think that would work?" Zero asked without pausing. She'd follow him.

"They occur in REM sleep, removing that could aid you." She told him, again appearing in front of him though this time as her mainframe on a screen.

"Is that safe?" He asked pausing to look at her.

"Not for prolonged periods." She shook her head.

"Even one night of peace a week would be better than nothing." Zero shrugged. "I'll ask Beka if she doesn't mind."

"It is your choice." She told him with a frown. Zero came up short and scratched at the back of his neck.

"Sorry, sometimes I forget I'm not just a slave." Zero looked down at his feet. "I need to get to work."

"I will ask Beka for you. If she agrees we'll try tonight." She told him before disappearing. Zero sighed and turned to head for where Harper was working. He was inside an access tunnel that Zero quickly crawled through coming up behind the man. Harper jerked violently as soon as Zero made a noise.

"Don't do that!" Harper growled at him waving a soldering wand in front of him.

"Don't point that at me." Zero retorted. "Why do you need me?"

"I need a hand calibrating this." Harper told him.

"I'm touched." Zero told him and sat beside him with a tired sigh.

"Andromeda said you were asleep." Harper told him. "Another one?"

"That or just a really weird dream." Zero sighed. "That's half the problem, I can't tell the difference between the ones like the Supernova and just random dreams."

"Have you had any nice ones?" Harper asked looking at him carefully.

Zero flinched as he was reminded of Harper's dying face. "Not yet." Harper shrugged and handed him a databoard and explained what he needed done. Zero paid attention but as they worked he found himself thinking about his new friend. "Shay?"

"Huh?" Harper barely turned to look at him.

"Be careful alright?" Zero told him.

Harper stopped and turned to look at him properly. "I'm always careful. What brought that on? Did you have one about me getting hurt?"

Zero winced. "I'm not sure."

"Oh, that's just great. Why'd you have to go tell me that?" Harper groaned.

"I'm just trying to be helpful." Zero sighed irritated at himself once again. He looked at the ceiling as he tipped back to lean on the bulkhead.

"You _are_ useful. Us two have both been working flat out." Harper told him.

"It doesn't stop me feeling useless." Zero told him. "Most of what I do is just improvement. I'd be useless in anything but hand to hand fighting. If there's a proper emergency I'm just going to get in the way. I have no experience on ships, I have no real life experience."

"That's not true." Harper snapped.

"Oh right, if Dylan or Beka ever decide to infiltrate a slave camp I'll be perfect for the job!" Zero snapped. His temper was rather frayed at the moment. He'd failed to prevent everything that he'd seen so far and if Harper died even though he'd gotten a warning he'd never forgive himself.

"Is this about what you saw?" Harper frowned. "You've warned me that I might get hurt, that's all you can do unless you happened to see a time and date to it."

"Funny, Shay." Zero frowned. "You were dying slowly. Something about being really exhausted."

"Thanks." Harper grinned at him.

"You're not even taking this seriously are you?" Zero snapped.

"It's kind of hard to." Harper chuckled.

"Well that makes me feel much better." Zero snarled. "Now when you die and Beka sells me to the nearest slavers I'll know why."

"What?" Harper flinched. "You still think we're going to sell you back to them?"

Zero groaned and closed his eyes. "Are we done here?"

"Zero, please don't do this. I hate it when you act like this." Harper sighed.

"Shay, I've spent four years mistrusting everyone. None of you understand that and now I have these dreams plaguing my every night and you want me to suddenly get over four years of slavery?" Zero sighed. "I'm just in over my head and about two minutes away from complete exhaustion."

"How about we take some time off then?" Harper suddenly suggested. "None of them know what we're doing and we both need a rest. Let's just chill out for a while. At least until we're through the next slipstream."

Zero sighed out explosively and settled back, shaking his legs straight in front of him. He flashed a quick grateful grin at Harper before shuttering his eyes slightly. Harper sat opposite him and relaxed too. Zero knew Harper was only forcing himself to stop working for Zero's sake and that meant more to him than the actual suggestion.

It wasn't even a minute later when a small version of Andromeda in her holographic image appeared. "Sorry boys but Dylan wants to know when you're going to get around to fixing the doors to cargo bay eight."

Zero moaned unhappily and sagged further into the wall. Harper groaned as well. "You tell him we'll get to it when he hires a four thousand man crew with at least five hundred techs."

Zero snorted in amusement but shook his head. "That's mechanical, ask Harper."

"The parts are done, I just needed Zero to help me fit it." Harper told Andromeda calmly.

"I'd really like my cargo bay working again." Andromeda told them mercilessly.

"Oh, since you asked so nicely." Harper conceded. "Run a full diagnostic on the timings for the collectors." He ordered Andromeda before standing and offering a hand to Zero. "Coming?"

"I suppose so." Zero sighed and accepted Harper's hand and let him help pull him up. Zero rubbed at his head and led the way out of the tunnel and into the corridor proper. "Which way is cargo bay eight?"

"You'll hate this." Harper shook his head. "The one furthest from my workshop."

"Workshop it is then." Zero sighed.

Andromeda appeared on one of the screens. "If my Android bodies were online I could offer to carry all the parts for you."

"Are you adding another job to the list?" Zero asked knowing that the androids worked apart from their interface with the computer network. His problem.

She smiled at him and vanished from the screen. He followed Harper with dragging feet. "Hey, maybe this will wipe you out so much that you'll sleep soundly tonight."

"Trance is going to sedate me too." Zero told him as they walked. He winced at the idea.

"What you got against being sedated?" Harper asked.

"I won't wake up if somebody attacks me." Zero told him bluntly. He shrugged. "It's how you end up when you sleep in a pen surrounded by malicious Nietzschean guards."

"I know what that feels like. Sleeping and always fearing that the Magog are going to attack." Harper nodded at him to show he did understand. "How about I stay with you in the Infirmary tonight? Trance can't stay up all night."

"You'd do that?" Zero asked surprised.

"I can't promise I'll stay awake but I'll have Andromeda sound an alarm if somebody opens the door, that way you'll know somebody is awake whenever somebody comes into the room."

"Somebody I trust." Zero smiled at him. "Thanks Shay."

"As long as you get some sleep and stop being Mr Grouchy, I'm happy." Harper hopped away from Zero's strike. Zero growled at him almost too low for Harper to hear and the other man grinned at him in amusement.

As they arrived at Harper's workshop they were met by a patiently waiting Rommie. The ship made flesh. "Hey Rom!" Harper grinned.

"I thought you might like some heavy lifting." She told them.

"Oh, you got the hint then?" Zero smirked.

"I don't want you two straining yourselves." She told them with a small smirk of her own. "You have plenty more to do before I'm happy."

"Add vindictiveness to that list of AI emotions." Zero noted to her. Rommie and Zero followed Harper into the room and he began loading the two of them up with supplies. Rommie took the majority of the heavy equipment and loaded it onto a AG-board before loading up her arms with the rest of the parts. Zero took an armful of tools and sensors and Harper took the rest though he mostly carried a lot of coiled wiring around his shoulders.

It was a good twenty minute walk through the ship to the right cargo bay and another five minutes to work their way down the huge, empty, cargo bay which was larger than five of the _Eureka Maru_ put side by side.

At the end of the cargo bay were the enormous doors. The doors and runners themselves were functioning but the gear box that ran the doors had been jolted by a missile hit three hundred years ago and the insides had been completely messed up. Their only way to access it was from the cat walks that laced the roof of the cavern like cargo bay which meant leaving the equipment down here and hauling it up piece by piece. Zero quickly set to work climbing the nearest ladder with a pulley system over his shoulder and then from the cat walk he attached the pulley to one of the supports designed specifically for this and lowered the end down to Harper.

"Where's Rommie?" Zero asked. He never shouted since it still hurt his throat but in the empty cargo bay his voice easily travelled down to Harper forty feet below him.

"Dylan needed her." Harper rolled his eyes. "Looks like it's just us two then."

"Joy." Zero shook his head and waited as Harper began loading supplies onto the pulley before Zero hauled it up. As they got the last parts up onto the catwalk Zero pulled off his shirt and collapsed down onto the metal walkway breathing deeply.

"You look tired." Harper pointed out helpfully after a few minutes. He'd climbed up the ladder to join Zero and was studying Zero rather strangely. Zero frowned at him and stood slowly and stretched. "You can work like that if you want."

"Don't worry, I'll be careful." Zero missed the intention behind Harper's words but vaulted up onto the edge of the walkway to began undoing one of the clasps that held the access panel tightly over the gear box. It took a moment for Harper to stop staring but eventually he moved to help though he wasn't as sure of himself perched on the edge of the cat walk. "Don't you like heights, Shay?" Zero asked as the cover came free and hinged around clear of the catwalk.

"I'm not part Panther." Harper stared at Zero in amusement.

Zero just grinned at him before ducking into the gear box. It was a room almost five metres across, where they'd removed the panel, and about fifteen metres deep full of overlapping gears, cooling systems, pipes and wires. Zero stood in the first clear space and turned to look at Harper who was working his way through the first set of systems. "You do realise that a single cargo bay gear box of Andromeda's is larger than the Eureka Maru's engine room, right?" Zero asked.

"I noticed." Harper laughed. "Just means it takes longer to fix her."

"And more effort." Zero stretched his arms and got ready for more hard work. The old gears that had been damaged had already been removed but more had to come away for them to access the burnt out wiring and piping. Then they have to put back the working gears and then haul in the replacement parts to finish the job. Then there was the testing part which would mean staying in here while the doors were tested.

Within an hour they had the last remaining gears off their supports and out on the cat walk and Harper had removed his own shirt because of how hot the two of them had become with all the hard work. Zero couldn't help but study the man. He didn't have the slim form that Zero had but a more healthily built type of muscle. And his muscles were more obviously formed from just hard work, lifting equipment and working around equipment whereas Zero's muscles held the same form they had when he'd first awakened in that cell. Zero was designed for speed and viciousness whereas Harper's form suggested comfort and safety.

Zero didn't miss the fact that he liked Harper's form but he didn't hang on the idea for more than a moment. He was in no condition to be thinking about his own happiness but his verdict about Harper's form only solidified the way Zero was beginning to think about Harper. Harper was comfortable, he was safe. Zero never had his guard up around him like he did around Dylan, Beka and especially Tyr.

XOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOX

**That night**

_Zero stood in an empty place surrounded by darkness. He thought that if he reached out he could grab a hold of somebody dear to him and save them yet whenever he tried to do just that his arms refused to move. The darkness was pure one moment and then filled with images that he could never focus on. He could do nothing but stand in the centre and hope uselessly that he could understand what was happening to him._

_His knees buckled yet again and he landed without pain. He stared up at the darkness above him and almost thought he saw a looming face of fire but then it was gone. He looked back down and jerked in shock. Before him, lying on what had to be the ground, was a delirious Harper. He writhed as if in a nightmare. His pale skin covered in a fine sheen of sweat._

_The darkness vanished before he could come to grips with Harper's form and he was floating in the centre of a lake of fire. Huge flares reached up into the starry space above him and he felt the heat burning at his skin. Before him he could see the hazy outline of Rommie stood watching him through the haze coming up around him._

"_Zero?" She asked yet it wasn't her voice. It was Trance's, full of concern._

_Before he could reach for Trance's voice a shiver went up his spine and he knew he was being hunted. He was a hunter and a hunter always knows when it's become the prey. Something was up in that darkness that wanted him dead. It didn't want to scare him or warn him. It wanted to be like him, like a Panther, it wanted to run up on his exposed back and bite through his neck._

Zero jerked awake and sat up with a small cry of shock. He jerked as he found himself face to face with a number of people. Trance was on his left while Harper was holding his right arm tightly as if he'd just been restraining him. Andromeda's hologram and Rommie were standing further behind Trance while Dylan, Rev, Beka and even Tyr were watching him. Tyr leered at him and Zero found himself growling out in anger and bunching up his muscles in order to attack.

Rev growled in response even though he quickly got himself under control. Zero, filled with the panic of being hunted, reacted without control. He grabbed at Harper's belt where his soldering wand was stored and had just managed to leap off the table towards the Nietzschean when Rommie was suddenly in front of him holding his right wrist, and the wand, away from herself. She held him in place with her other hand against his chest. He snarled at her but then managed to get control over himself. He eyed her carefully before letting the soldering wand fall from his hand. He narrowed his eyes passed her at the Nietzschean who just stared back impassively. His growl let everybody know just how much he didn't like the man being in the room.

Harper grabbed him by the arm and pushed him firmly back to the bed and Zero complied and sat down. He noted that Rommie didn't move from where she was standing between him and Tyr. "What was that?" Dylan asked.

Zero turned meek eyes on the bigger man and he winced. "Sorry."

"That didn't answer my question." Dylan pointed out.

"I was caught up in something I dreamt." Zero told him.

"Well that answers another question." Trance jumped in. "You slept soundly all night until I gave you the drug to counter the sedative. Then you began jerking around and we couldn't wake you."

"I can remember it well." Zero told her, "but I feel like I slept all night. Thanks."

"You're welcome." Trance told him.

"What did you dream?" Dylan asked. He looked wary but not so much as Beka and definitely not as much as Tyr who was outright sneering now. They clearly didn't completely believe in his dreams but Dylan had proof in the way of the Nova bomb. Trance just accepted it while Rev believed it was a Divine gift. Harper believed in it for Zero's sake, though whether he actually believed or not was another matter.

"I don't know what any of it means." Zero shrugged. "I was standing near the surface of a lake of fire, maybe a sun's surface, Rommie was standing there too. Then I felt like I was being hunted."

"Hence the reaction against Tyr." Beka nodded looking rather tight lipped.

"Yeah." Zero nodded. He got off of the bed and stretched.

"How come you can remember this one so well?" Harper asked. "All your others have been sketchy right?"

"I don't know. I think it's because somehow it's all related." Zero shrugged before turning to Rommie. "Do I have anything to do that can't wait for a couple of hours?"

"I'd like my Androids back but I suppose that can wait for half a day." She told him. "And there's a bank of consoles on Command that need looking at."

"That new?" Zero asked.

"Last night." Dylan told him. "But that can wait. What did you have in mind?"

"I want to jack in and look something up. A hunch." Zero told him. "And then I want to work out a bit. I'm used to having to fight every few days whether I want to or not and it's strange not to."

"Give me a call once you're done researching." Dylan told him with a grin. "I could do with some exercise and after our little fight before I'm interested in what you can do with a force lance."

Zero nodded and headed out of the room in search of a shower and a change of clothes.

XOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOX

**AI core**

Zero opened a search file as soon as he'd jacked in and no sooner had he done it Andromeda appeared before him. It was the personality that always kept to the screens but in here she ruled. The holograph could appear in here also and Rommie could access it at any time but unless stated it would normally always be the main personality.

"What did you need to know?"

"I lied about my dream." Zero told her bluntly. "Well, I didn't lie, I just missed something out in the retelling. You were there like I said which I reckon means you were there to represent the entire ship. Though I don't see why you'd be that close to a sun."

"What did you miss out?" Andromeda asked.

"I saw Harper dying." Zero told her and bit his lower lip. "It's the second time I've seen it but it was clearer this time. The first time was just after I did the work on your automated shutdown routine."

"Dying of what?" Andromeda asked.

"That's the thing. I thought it was just exhaustion or something the first time but that doesn't really fit." Zero sighed. "I saw him as part of the dream with the sun and that can't be a coincidence. Run a simulation on the effects of a human after long term exposure to solar radiation."

"Burning of the skin, retinal damage, mutation of surface cells." Andromeda told him after a moment. "More internal damage is done after the body shuts down."

"That doesn't fit." Zero sighed. "He was pale and sweaty but not burnt."

"Burning would be visible before any other symptom." She assured him.

"What if it was only minor radiation?" Zero asked. "Like if he was insidethe ship but you were too close to the sun."

"It is contrary to my program to remain too close to a sun for enough time to damage my crew." She told her rather offended with the idea.

"But you'd do it if Dylan ordered you to." Zero told her knowing she would. She could counter Dylan but only if he wasn't justified in his actions. She nodded at him. "How long would a human last if shielded by the ship five light seconds from the inner corona sphere?"

"Forty eight hours before symptoms began to show. Symptoms would be nausea, exhaustion, fever and deliriousness." Andromeda lectured. "Permanent cellular damage wouldn't begin for another twenty-four hours."

"Let's hope we don't need to spend more than three days in a sun then." Zero sighed.

"I see no reason we would need to." She told him.

"I saw no reason why we'd need to blow up a sun either but we still did." Zero told her. "I ignored the warning that time. I don't want to do it again and be the cause for Harper's death."

"Nobody would blame you." Andromeda told him sternly.

"I would." Zero retorted bluntly. "I want you to monitor all radiation exposure to Harper from this moment onwards. Alert somebody if the levels become even slightly more than normal and stop him from doing anything that may expose him to a radiation threat."

"Anything else?" She asked. Zero couldn't work out if she was being sarcastic or not.

"I'll talk to Dylan but I want you to run a ship wide scan for any radiation threats." Zero told her as he shut the programs he'd have run if Andromeda hadn't offered her help. He jacked out a moment after Andromeda began her scans. It would take her a few hours to do it thoroughly.

Zero called Dylan to say he was heading for the training room and he found the man there in shorts and T-shirt. Zero was used to fighting in trousers and his sleeveless shirt so he stayed as he was.

"You want to warm up?" Dylan asked. He already had by the looks of him.

Zero eyed him, taking in the lay of his body, the tension in his muscles brought on by his warm up, the way his muscles moved and their placement gave him a hint to the man's fighting style. Zero realised he was assessing Dylan like a cat would study its prey before attempting to outfight it. Zero decided to blame that on his Panther genes since he couldn't explain what else they were for. As Zero shook his head in answer to Dylan's question he cross the room and noticed something decidedly unwelcome. Tyr was leaning next to the door.

"I invited him." Dylan told him. "I'll be too busy fighting you to really pay attention."

"Then ask Beka." Zero told him bluntly.

"Beka's doesn't have nearly as much fighting experience as Tyr."

"Tyr is a Nietzschean." Zero narrowed his eyes before hooking a practice staff with his foot and flicking it up so he could catch it. All without taking his eyes off of Tyr.

"So?" Dylan asked.

"They're all the same." Zero told him.

"Just forget he's here." Dylan told him.

"That would be an idiots mistake." Zero told him. "And probably his last mistake."

"The kids smart." Tyr muttered. Zero glared at him.

"Stay against the wall or I'll crush your throat." Zero warned him with a growl. Tyr narrowed his eyes at the threat but didn't comment. Zero waited for Dylan to move across the room until he was between Zero and Tyr. Zero wasn't planning on putting his back to Tyr at any point in this fight. Zero spun the staff in languid circles getting a crash course in its weight. A few last flicks showed him how fast he could push it to move and with a final nod at Dylan the man attacked.

Zero had already learned that the High Guard Captain was stronger than normal from their last fight but this time Zero had a weapon to go along with his speed and agility and Dylan leant very early that Zero didn't really have to try that hard to block his strikes. Zero passed up a few opportunities to take the offensive and even passed by on an opening that could have defeated the other man. Dylan noted this without comment but Zero was too used to being forced to train with Nietzschean guards that don't like to be shown up. Zero had found it easier to push their limits so he proved himself but he'd only ever beaten one of the guards in an actual fight and that was when he'd killed one.

Zero spun on the spot and lashed out with his staff as Dylan stepped back to force Zero to take the offensive. Dylan blocked it but couldn't stop Zero from twisting back the other way and kicking him in the leg. Dylan ducked to the side but instead of taking the opening and twisting them both around, Zero backed away to his starting position, letting Dylan attack from his current position. Zero blocked but didn't show any sign of doing the move on purpose. Dylan tried to get Zero to swap positions a few more times but his attempts were more often than not thwarted as Zero simply stood back and let a blow pass him by even though it lost him an opportunity to strike.

Zero ended the fight by swinging his staff quickly over his shoulder and bring it down at Dylan's own shoulder. Dylan blocked it but couldn't stop Zero from inverting his staff and forcing Dylan's staff from his hands. Before Dylan could recover from his stumble he could the end of Zero's staff against his throat as if it was a weapon.

"You could have done that ten minutes ago if you didn't waste so many opportunities." Dylan told him.

"And put my back to Tyr." Zero told him bluntly. "I won't make that mistake."

"Not everybody is out to kill you." Dylan huffed as he drew in breath to warm down.

"Every Nietzschean I've met has." Zero told him. "You made the mistake of trusting a Nietzschean at your back and it got you trapped in a Black Hole for three hundred years. I'm not so oblivious to the universe's little humours."

Zero turned and walked from the room keeping an eye on Tyr the entire time. He took a shower and changed before heading for Command where Rev and Harper were on duty. He had work to do on the consoles that went dead the night before.

XOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOX

**Command**

Zero was typing rapidly on one of the back consoles trying to get the bank to link in with the mainframe properly but it was a slow process. As he worked he noted Dylan's arrival. He glanced up and noticed the man was wearing the same exercise outfit he had worn earlier.

"Hey, new uniform?" Harper laughed from the pilot's seat. Zero glanced up and took in the suddenly busy room. From what he's heard so far Rev at comms. had picked up a faint High Guard signal from about the time of the fall and naturally they'd jumped into action. Zero left them too it, ghost signals were rather common and while working on his computers linked to communication systems he'd picked up hundreds. Though something like a High Guard signal would have been encrypted to the point of not even being able to be identified.

He found himself thankful that evidently Tyr hadn't followed him. "I'll put something more impressive on later." Dylan told Harper calmly as he moved to the Captain's console on the right of the bridge. Rev stood in one opposite him while Harper was in the pilot's seat. Zero was working at the back on the slightly raised section on a console that he'd completely opened out and plugged his data board into. "Right now I want the data from that recorder. If the ship was destroyed late in the war, it might tell us where to find resupply stations or fuel caches."

Zero would normally help Andromeda with the decoding but he wanted to continue working since this didn't strike him as important. It didn't remind him about his dreams at least, which was reassuring. Andromeda appeared as a hologram in front of Harper who was watching carefully as a field of debris approached. "The signal is coming from the centre of the debris field." She warned them.

"Take us in nice and slow." Dylan ordered Harper. "We don't want to bump into any leftover ordnance."

"Nice and slow." Harper whistled. "That I can do."

"From the dispersal of the remains, it looks like someone hit her anti-proton storage and sent her reactors critical." Rev deducted. Zero winced. He'd never seen a reactor go critical in person but he'd seen the flash of light over the planet when his old Master had fired at a cargo ship and her reactor had gone. It had been like a second sun.

"You ok, Rommie?" Dylan suddenly asked the hologram.

"I just got a positive ID from the mission recorder." Andromeda told him sadly. Zero looked up from where he sat to watch her calmly. "It was the Eightfold Path."

"A friend of yours?" Dylan prompted.

"We worked together during the famine relief of Sculpta one-nineteen." She told him. "She was a good ship."

"We may have company." Rev suddenly warned them. Zero paid closer attention now since something might actually happen.

"Another vessel?" Dylan asked.

"I can't tell." Rev frowned. "I'm getting a faint sensor contact at extreme range."

"Andromeda, keep an eye on it." Dylan ordered matter-of-factly.

"Yes sir." The image of Andromeda nodded from the main screen.

"This would be a lot easier if my android bodies were back on-line." Her hologram added.

"One thing at a time." Zero grumbled from his place on the floor against the open console.

"What kind of ship was the Eightfold Path?" Harper asked as he continued to slowly edge them through the debris.

"A Mercy call medical support ship." The computer image told him.

"Well that's weird." Harper bit his lip for a moment before continuing. "Because some of this junk looks like it came from a warship."

"Rev?" Dylan prompted.

"Harper is correct." Rev nodded at him. "There's even unfired missiles in her launch tubes."

Zero frowned but stayed out of it. He wasn't used to speaking up into a conversation. It would get you a few lashes or a beating as a slave and even without that concern he just wasn't to having to raise his voice over other people. "The sensor contact's moving closer. It's definitely another ship." Andromeda's hologram announced.

Zero stood but didn't move away from his open console. He had a bad feeling but by the look on Dylan's face he felt the same way. "Astern one quarter." He ordered Harper.

"Reading targets all around us. The missiles have been activated and they're coming right towards us!" Rev sudden shouted just as the lights darkened and an alarm blared in warning.

"Harper! Get us out of here!" Dylan snapped. Zero braced himself even as the screen filled with darts of light seconds before the net tightened and the ship was rocked. Zero knew that Andromeda could stop some attacks but so many sudden attacks at such a short range couldn't all be repelled and surely enough some slammed home. "Andromeda, report!"

The hologram gave a slightly satisfied shrug. "We have minimal structural damage. The point defence lasers repelled most of the missiles, and the ones that got through didn't hurt much. Just some radioactive residue on my hull."

"The other ship's on the move." Rev warned. "I'm losing sensor contact."

"Andromeda, keep your eyes on the bogey." Dylan ordered. "Deploy sensor drones, standard coverage pattern."

"Is this the part where we bravely run?" Harper asked subtly.

"Not a chance." Dylan told him. "Open a comm. channel and head straight towards the bogey."

"Towards?" Harper gasped. "They're trying to kill us."

"Attention unknown vessel." Dylan began. "This is Captain Dylan Hunt, commander of the Commonwealth Starship _Andromeda Ascendant_. Stand down your attack. Respond. Over."

Zero stared at the man's blatant optimism with a strange feeling of dread just as Beka and Tyr rushed into the room. "What did we miss? Anything good?" Beka asked brightly.

"No." Harper sighed. "We're just running straight towards the missile attack so that Dylan can make friends with the people that are shooting at us."

"Great." Beka said rather sarcastically. "I just love making new friends."

"Unknown vessel." Dylan continued without any sign that he'd heard them talking about him. "I say again. Stand down your attack."

"Well this is pointless." Tyr put in. "I say we kill them and move on."

For once Zero agree with him. He had a nagging feeling that this stealthy predator was the one from his dream. "Widen the search pattern on the drones." Dylan ordered instead.

"I'm not reading anything." The hologram reported. "The bogey's sensors have gone dark."

"Just like a Panther goes silent before it strikes." Zero found himself saying without thinking. Dylan gave him a startled look as did Rev, Beka and Tyr. Only Harper didn't look at him since he was piloting.

"Incoming!" Rev suddenly yelled snapping them all back into action.

"Oh great." Harper managed out just in time for the missiles to strike them. More got through this time and Zero felt pain run up his back for an instant before he was thrown forwards into the consoles before him. His eyes went black and a dim part of his mind realised two things. Firstly that his open console had attacked him and secondly that he was caught before he hit the floor by strong arms. Arms with bone blades running along them.

XOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOX

**Later**

Zero woke with a start and jerked up in the bed. His neck was numb and his hand instantly came up to feel it. Radiating out from his implant was a deep burn. His skin was cut in several places across his shoulder blades and his shirt was gone. The console must have sent shrapnel to cut up his back and the electrical shock wouldn't have been good for his implant, hence the burns. It was a good thing the neural implants had built in safety measures to prevent electric shock from passing straight into the spinal cord or he'd be dead right now.

Zero swung his feet onto the floor and dropped to the floor. He wavered dangerously and blinked dots out of his eyes. His neural system was a bit friend it seemed. "Andromeda?" Zero asked.

One of the screens on his left changed and Zero forced himself to focus on it, though that was difficult. "We are in battle." She told him.

"Still?" Zero asked blearily.

"It has been over three hours." She told him. "We were forced to hide in a gas giant to make repairs."

"The enemy?" Zero asked.

"We do not yet know who it is." She told him.

"The Panther still prowls." Zero muttered before having to reach out to grab the bed to hold himself up.

"Perhaps." Andromeda told him. "Please lie on the bed and rest."

Her words only partly reached his mind as the room tilted violently. Zero was just about to steady himself when the entire ship lurched and Zero found the floor rushing up at him. He blacked out again.

XOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOX

**Later**

Zero woke slowly this time. His neck felt stretched and he knew that was because of the burned skin there. He could also feel pain there so the pain killers Trance had obviously given him the first time had obviously worn off and not been renewed. His chest was still bare which and he made a small motion to assess him ability to move. His shoulders hurt so he still had the wounds he remembered though they wouldn't stop him in a fight. The slight pull at the skin on his chest proved that he hadn't suddenly lost the large scar from the ship crash.

He cracked open his eyes and saw three shapes watching him. Knowing he was caught he opened his eyes fully and found himself looking at Dylan, Rommie and Trance. Trance was holding a hypoderm gun in her hand. She looked ready to leap to his aid.

"How are you feeling?" Dylan asked.

"Like I just woke up." Zero told him without emotion. "How long was I asleep total?"

"Just over a day and a half." Dylan told him.

"We wanted to keep you under until the damage to your neural system was fully healed." Trance told him. "I've got some pain meds here so you just tell me if you want them."

"I don't feel much pain." Zero told her honestly.

"You've taken quite a high jolt to your implant." Rommie told him. "Pain has been hitting you in sudden waves."

"Oh." Zero bit his lip slightly. "Oh well, that should be fun. How long will it last?"

"It's hard to say." Trance told him. "A week, maybe two."

"You said you _wanted _to keep me under?" Zero prompted Dylan.

"We've had to take certain measures to hide and we need the systems back up as soon as possible." Dylan told him with a sigh. "Harper's doing everything he can but he can only go so fast and we're running out of time."

"If we're hidden why is there a time limit?" Zero asked but looked to the side to cut off any answer. "We close to the sun, aren't we?"

"How did you know that?" Dylan asked.

"I dreamt it remember?" Zero raised his eyebrows at him. "Andromeda was standing in the fires above that sun I dreamt about. The stalker is that ship that attacked us. That just leaves..."

Andromeda looked at him steadily "Radiation levels have increased but they will not cause a problem for another twenty hours."

"I _saw_ Harper dying of radiation poisoning." Zero countered.

"You _think_ you saw radiation poisoning." Rommie countered. "There could be other causes."

"So you believe in coincidences then?" Zero asked quietly before forcing his feet off the side of the bed before he hopped off and swayed violently. Dylan caught his elbow. "What needs doing?"

"We have no fire control for a start." Dylan told him. "Andromeda has no command over AP battery one and the relays to the AP cannons are dead in battery four. Lastly missile tubes nine to eighteen are dark."

"Lead on, Captain." Zero told him sarcastically. "I might need Harper's help for some of it though."

"He's working on something to get us out of here but if you really need him then just call him." Dylan told him before passing him over to Rommie. "She'll take you to Tyr. I'm sorry, Zero, but Tyr is the only one I can spare at the moment to do the manual labour for you."

"He caught me." Zero frowned at Dylan.

Dylan looked at him in confusion for a moment before a dawning came over him. "When you were thrown across Command he stopped you from hitting the wall." Dylan sighed. "I don't think he's as bad as you think."

"It's best to assume that all Nietzscheans are as bad as you think." Zero countered. "But if him helping me is the only way of getting away from this sun then stop talking and let me get to work."

Dylan chuckled and let Rommie half carry Zero from the room. They found Tyr near to the doors to the control room for the sixth AP battery. There were six batteries in total controlling two cannons each and they tended to go faulty as a pair. Zero took his full weight onto his own feet and accepted the tools that Tyr was holding. He checked it over for anything he might need but since there was everything he figured Harper had given the tools to Tyr.

Tyr turned and led the way into the battery control room without comment and Rommie smiled at Zero who slowly followed feeling every bit like he was walking to his own execution. "Let's get this straight." Tyr said as soon as the door closed behind Zero. "We need you to get out of this radiation bath we're currently wallowing around in and that means you have to stop this jittery crap you get around me and get to work. Understood?"

Zero eyed the bigger man with cold eyes and slowly set his tools down on the side. "Let me put that another way." Zero told him coldly. "I hate Nietzscheans. Without exception but I want to save Beka, Rev, Harper and Trance which means I have to work with you but whereas you need me to get out of this, I _don't_ need you. If you make one threatening move that I don't like I _will _kill you."

"You don't think me scared of a human child do you?" Tyr snorted and crossed his arms showing off his bulging muscles and bone blades threateningly.

"It doesn't matter whether I am scared of you. I will kill you none-the-less." Zero warned him. "I've killed Nietzscheans before hand to hand and that was as a slave. You're supposed to be the best race at survival but let me tell you this; Slaves are better."

Tyr grunted in amusement but didn't push the debate any further. "Get to work."

"Stay out of my way unless I tell you to do something." Zero retorted without missing a beat. He turned to take in the room and sighed. He couldn't hope to repair the onsite control consoles in the time which was why Andromeda wasn't able to command them herself but he could easily divert control to ignore them completely giving Andromeda and the control room the use of the two AP cannons back.

He moved across the room and noted with gratitude that Tyr was serious about not distracting him since he moved away from where Zero wanted to work but stayed in his line of vision. Zero winced violently as he yanked the panel off the wall and almost yelped as the sudden weight tugged at his burned neck. He dropped the panel without grace beside him and rubbed at his neck with a hiss.

The panel was dead but with a few adjustments across this room he could probably bring the cannons back. He started work firstly ensuring that the cannons actually worked and then he began on the harder task of filling the room with open panels and crossed wires as he by passed the controls in the room. Tyr went running for cables and other tools he needed without complaint and after an hour and a half Zero stood back. "Andromeda?"

He holographic matrix appeared in the room and eyed the wires crossing the room without obvious order. "You've made quite the mess."

"You didn't say it had to be neat." Zero told her. "Power up and aim AP battery one."

"Power up confirmed. Targeting systems and telemetry normal. AP battery one fully operational." Andromeda grinned at him. "Good work."

"Thanks. Power it down. I don't want you overloading the rerouting." Zero told her. He turned to look at Tyr who shocked him by looking impressed. "Onwards?"

"Where?" Tyr asked. 

Zero looked at Andromeda for directions. "The relays on AP battery four are out and the AP cannons are dead."

"And that just happens to be almost a mile of corridors from here." Zero sighed and picked up his tool belt letting Tyr heft the rest of the tools and supplies they might need. Zero managed to walk on his own for all of ten minutes before a wave of pain swept up the back of his neck and he saw stars. He was used to pain from a whip or belt when he was punished but this was in the back of his skull and it made him lose focus and drop to his knees before he knew what he was doing.

An arm steadied him before he fell flat on the corridor floor but almost as soon as it hit it faded again. "What was that?" Tyr asked from his place far too close for Zero's liking. Zero shrugged him away violently.

"My implant fried my nerves." Zero told him bluntly and laboriously hauled himself to his feet and set off again down the corridors. "It's gonna do that for a while according to Trance."

Tyr was walking beside him in moment but he was standing closer this time and every time Zero stumbled his arm twitched as if ready to catch him. Zero refused the unspoken offer for help and took each step on his own, pushing himself beyond his tiredness until they reached the control room for AP battery four. Zero leaned his hands on the wall beside the door and took steady breathing to calm his shaking muscles.

"I'm impressed." Tyr remarked without all that much emotion to his voice.

"I'm so pleased." Zero gritted out before pushing away from the way. He swayed dizzily for a moment before opening the door and entering. "Don't bother putting anything down just yet. I only want to find out where to start."

Tyr didn't comment so Zero began running diagnostics on the consoles to find where the relay had blown. The console was in contact with Command with problems but neither control console was able to receive telemetry from the AP cannons. That wasn't likely to be the telemetry from the AP cannons to the control room since they were in different directions from each other. It was most likely going to be interruption somewhere between the power relays to the AP cannons, somewhere that could affect both at once. Zero brought up the schematics for the power relays to the AP cannons and followed them up through the ship from the AP reactors to where they branched apart two corridors from their own position before going to each of the AP cannons.

"Andromeda? Show me the missile impact areas for the recent battles." Zero ordered. Without a comment from the AI the screen shifted to show the entire _Andromeda Ascendant _with red dots to show the impact zones. Zero could see the highlighted power relay within the ship and it only came close to one of those impact zones in one place just at the junction where the relays separated. The blast was close enough to both relays. "Thank you." He said needlessly but courteously before turning to Tyr.

Tyr nodded and left the room with Zero following him, he obviously watched what Zero had spent the last ten minutes doing since he headed straight for the area Zero had noticed without comment. Zero stopped him though at the right access tunnel and led the way through the tunnel. Tyr surprised him yet again by allowing a ten foot space to separate them. Zero decided he didn't have time to consider the Nietzschean's odd behaviour at the moment and half decided that their current dilemma was exactly what had caused the shift in the man's attitude.

Zero groaned loudly as they entered the large room designed to open access up to both relays as they branched away from each other. The relays themselves were not more than three inch thick cables designed to transport anti-protons and power to the AP cannons. They were however sealed in larger tubes with the needed shielding to protect the corridors and so on.

It was rather easy to see what had happened in here though. The support beams in the ceiling had come away and a large fragment had fallen down from the ceiling, landing on the junction of the relays. It hadn't gone completely through but it had probably damaged the wiring. Zero turned to Tyr who was studying the damage with a rather reluctant air.

"Do you think you can shift that?" He asked the Nietzschean. Tyr eyed it for a moment but before he could try it Zero stopped him with a curt gesture. "Andromeda? Cut power to the power relay to AP cannons seven and eight." They'd risk getting rather bad exposure to Anti-protons if they weren't careful.

"Confirmed." She told them without appearing.

Zero nodded to Tyr and moved forwards to help. Tyr shook his head. "Save your energy until you actually need it." Tyr told him bluntly.

Zero nodded and moved back so the Nietzschean didn't have to worry about hitting him. A small part of his mind pointed out that if Tyr wanted to hurt him then it wouldn't have been logical to tell him to conserve his strength. Zero watched as Tyr tested how firmly placed the support was being giving it a test pull once at either end. Then after placing himself at one corner he gave a few strong tugs before giving a huge yank with a loud grunt. The edge of the support came free and he dropped the end to the side before doing the same with the other end. He leaned against the wall and Zero realised just how much effort that had taken.

Zero moved over and studied where the support had cut through the piping and winced at the burnt smell from inside. "We'll have the bypass the whole section until we can do some proper work. It'll take a week of work to completely repair this with just me and Harper."

"What now then?" Tyr asked, he'd already got back his breath.

"Start stripping the plates off the piping here..." Zero pointed to a point a foot up the relay before pointing to a point next to Tyr, four feet from last place and across the damage, "...to there. Both sides." He finished.

Tyr nodded and moved to the tool kit to pull out the tools needed to undo the nuts holding down the plates that coated and protected the relays. Zero thought for a moment about what they'd need before raising his voice to Andromeda. "Open communication with Harper." He waited a moment before speaking again. "Harper?"

"_Zero! Glad to know you've joined us."_ Harper responded. He sounded a bit strange.

"I'm glad to be awake too." Zero told him. "I need to know if we have the necessary parts to bypass two four foot lengths of AP cables."

"_No chance to repair them?"_ Harper asked.

"Not without a couple of weeks." Zero told him. "A support fell onto them both and cut down into the AP channels. Completely fried the insides."

"_We've got the parts for the channels but it'll take me a few hours to knock up the shielding plates."_ Harper told him.

"I'll sort out the bypass but we'll just have to avoid this area while their powered." Zero told him. "Are you ok, Harper? You sound tired."

"_I'm just knackered." _Harper told him.

"You call if you need to rest. Alright?" Zero asked in concern.

"_You got it." _Harper replied with some of his old cheer in his tone. _"The AP channels are stored in cargo bay nine. I think I saw them about half way back against the right wall. Five inch thick red cables. You'll need a AP gun though."_

"Thanks, Harper." Zero signed off before looking at Tyr. "There's no way I can carry an AP gun let alone eight feet of AP cable as well."

"I'll take care of it." Tyr told him with a brunt nod of the head. Zero took the spanner from him to continue removing the shielding and then watched in silence as Tyr turned his back and headed out through the tunnels. He didn't really like having to reassess his impressions of the Nietzschean race but perhaps he could hold a slightly different view of this particular one. He'd have to prove himself first though and who knew how long that would take when it was Zero he'd have to prove himself to.

XOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOX

**Three hours later**

Zero was heading to the missile tubes when Andromeda called him. Tyr had left him to talk to Beka so far as Zero knew but Zero was more than happy with the chance to relax and move through the corridors without having to cover his own weaknesses. Holo-Andromeda appeared in front of him, making him almost fall over. "I think you should go to the Med-Bay." She told him.

"I'm feeling fine." Zero countered.

"I know you have too much work to do to rest but that you should." Andromeda told him. "But I don't mean you."

"What?" Zero frowned.

"Harper collapsed on Command." She told him quietly. "Radiation poisoning."

"But you were monitoring him!" Zero gasped. "You told me you would keep an eye on him."

"So far I don't know what caused him to be affected more than normal." Andromeda told him.

"If he dies..." Zero muttered to himself.

Andromeda waited for him to continue but he didn't. In the end she disappeared. Zero closed his eyes and rubbed at the bridge of his nose tiredly. When he reopened them he found that he was kneeling on the floor. He felt like someone had trusted him with something and he was failing. Rev always said that the Divine had gifted him with the power to help people but if that was the case then he really didn't deserve the power.

He stood slowly and headed up to the Med-Bay. It took him a while and when he arrived he found a strained looking Trance hovering over Harper. Zero stood silently at the bottom of the bed and watched his friend with regret written on his features. Trance smiled up at him gently. "It's not your fault." She told him.

Zero made a vague gesture trying to express his confusion about what had happened to Harper. He didn't even think of speaking aloud. He still felt more comfortable when he was 

silent and Trance never had trouble understanding him even if he didn't really know what he wanted to express. "Beka and Tyr came here a few minutes ago. Harper's immune system was damaged on Earth. It just can't do as much to fight the radiation as us."

Zero pointed to himself and hung his head. He ignored Trance when she went to counter his self imposed blame. He moved up along the bed and found himself reaching out to push Harper's sweat-damp hair out of his eyes. "I'm sorry, Harper. I should have told you that Andromeda and I knew it was radiation. You or Beka could have told us about your immune system. We could have..."

"Done what?" Harper hissed between his teeth. His voice weak and strained. "What would we have done?"

"We would have..." Zero groaned. "I don't know." He hung his head again. "I'm so sorry, Shay. I'm such a screw up!"

"No." Harper sighed and rolled his eyes to look directly at Zero.

Zero sat on a chair Trance suddenly pushed him into. He crossed his arms on the edge of Harper's bed and rested his chin on his forearms. "Shay." Zero sighed tiredly. "A month ago I screwed up. I lost it at a guard and killed him and my Master killed another slave. The only person I know that I could call a mother."

"That's not your fault." Harper told him.

"It _is_ my fault!" Zero pushed. "I could have just dealt with it instead of losing my temper but I didn't."

"Harper's right, Zero." Trance told him from behind him. "Nobody can say why we make the decisions we do but they have to be made. You must have had good reason to lose your temper."

"They raped my little sister." Zero told them quietly, admitting to at least one of his two horrors. "She's ten."

Harper gritted his teeth and shut his eyes but Zero couldn't tell if it was through pain or at what Zero had said. Trance gripped Zero's shoulders and he felt her lips kissing the top of his head. "If you hadn't lost your temper at that, Zero, you wouldn't be such a kind soul." She told him completely seriously.

Zero put his face into his forearms and pulled in a shuddering breath. "I don't know what to do anymore." Zero sighed.

"None of us know what we're supposed to, we can only try to meet our own expectations." Trance told him.

"I've met my expectations." Zero told her. "I'm a complete failure."

Zero felt a soft touch on the back of his head. Stronger fingers than Trance's ran across his hair and down onto his neck. "You are not a failure." Harper told him.

"Dylan?" Trance spoke up suddenly from across the room. Zero raised his head though not enough that Harper had to move his hand from the back of his neck. She was speaking to a picture of Dylan on what looked like the Eureka Maru. "Do you still need Zero?"

"There's only the missile tubes to do." His image said. Zero suddenly found it hard to focus on his face but he just saw Dylan look across at him with a look of sudden concern. "I supposed we can do without them with the AP cannons up and running."

"Good." Trance nodded. "Because he's about two minutes of work away from losing his mind."

"That bad?" Dylan asked with a raised eyebrow.

"You didn't hear what he just told us." Trance just said before glancing back at Zero's watching eyes. Zero jerked his head and she smiled at him. "Andromeda should have heard the story and Zero says she can tell you. He's injured, mentally and physically exhausted and he's carrying so much on his shoulders that it makes your task look simple."

Zero put his head back onto his arms and looked at Harper even as he lost track of Trance and Dylan's conversation. Harper's eyes were closed and his breathing, though weak, was slow and even. He was asleep yet his hand didn't move from the back of Zero's neck. Zero let his own eyes close.

_Beka was running out from behind the vast flames that surrounded Zero. The looming shadow swept up from the ground and reached for her but even as Zero tried to shout out a warning Rommie struck forwards like a coiled snake and grabbed at the shadow with unyielding hands. The shadow jerked and tried to fight back. But Rommie was bigger and stronger. Even as Zero watched from the flames the shadow snarled out and twisted what seemed to be its own neck. Killing itself._

_Harper was writhing on a floor of cold hard iron. Sweat ran down his skin and his breathing rasped as he tried to get enough air into his lungs to survive. His eyes flickered back and forward under his eyelids as he struggled within a feverish dream. Zero crouched at his side and grabbed one of his hands between both of his own, wishing with every part of his soul that he could save this one friend. He knew he had failed others even if he couldn't remember most of them. _

_The hard floor changed as waves of grass spread from them and Zero felt so many things in a single moment that he could never describe them even to himself. A high pitched laugh shook his bones, the sound so hauntingly familiar but Zero couldn't place it. Light burst from between Zero and Harper and Zero felt his hands burn even as he cried for his failure._

_The voice that came to him as the dream went black was one he couldn't ever remember having heard before. It was part of his dream and yet not at the same time._

"_You will always be mine!"_

XOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOX

End Chapter


	5. Bitter revenge

Sacrifice

Chapter 5; Bitter revenge

**_Andromeda Ascendant_**

_He turned in a complete circle and jumped when Tyr appeared out of the blackness of his surroundings. Before he could recover Tyr simply split apart, turned to the left and right and then two Tyrs were walking passed on either side of him. He turned his body to follow them but he was alone again._

_A small whimper behind him made him spin around again and he found himself kneeling on the ground in front of a small boy who was shivering and crying. He slowly reached out and almost recoiled when the boy unfurled slightly to show bone blades in his arms, his features were so familiar to him yet he couldn't place them. Tears stained his face. A noise from behind him made him snap to his feet and suddenly he and the boy were surrounded in an endless sea of people, not just people but Nietzscheans._

_Before he could cry out a wave of heat buffeted him and from the back of the sea of Nietzscheans came a tidal wave of flames. He grabbed his ears as thousands of men screamed as they were burned alive. When it was over he found himself looking at a pale and desperate Seamus. He caught him as he dropped to his knees and Seamus cried into his chest pleading for forgiveness for those he'd killed._

_"Zero!" He was jerked out of his embrace with Seamus and felt himself behind tugged backwards through the darkness. He tried to look around, trying to trace Izus' voice but her plea seemed to simply vanish into the darkness._

_His feet hit the ground with a horribly wet sound and he looked down to see blood running over his bare feet. A sliced off hand lay only a foot in front of him and as he looked up at the hand more shapes evolved out of the blood soaked ground. He was standing in the middle of a massacre. The sky over his head was thick with angry black clouds and lightning flashed in the distance as if heralding the deaths of those at his feet. His head jerked back to look ahead as an echo of a deep voice reached him and through some sense he didn't understand he felt as if something was closing in on him._

Zero jerked upright with a choked cry and his hands searched around him in the low light as his eyes scanned for dangers on pure adrenaline fuelled desperation. He tumbled off of the bed he was laying on and quickly found a wall while he got his bearings. He was Zero, a former slave of a Nietzschean that now worked for Beka Valentine of the _Eureka Maru_ and Dylan Hunt of the _Andromeda Ascendant_. He was in the corner of the sickbay on the _Andromeda_ and on the other end of the room was Seamus Harper sleeping on another of the beds.

"Zero?" The voice sounded even as an almost see-through image of Andromeda appeared five feet in front of him. Zero couldn't help but jerk and cross his arms over his chest defensively. "Are you okay? You're BP spiked, you're heart rate is erratic and your adrenaline is high."

"Really?" Zero griped. "That's a shocker."

Andromeda gave him a strange look. "Another dream?"

Zero shuddered and wrapped his arms around himself tighter. "I think the last bit was a memory. I keep getting it."

"My scans indicate that you didn't injure your throat this time." Andromeda informed him. "Do you want me to alert Trance?"

Zero shook his head and was slowly walking across the sick bay even as he spoke. "How is Harper?"

"He is recovering well." Andromeda told him. "We have escaped the sun's radiation but will effect repairs before leaving this system. His rate of recovery is faster then we could have expected."

Zero blinked away the vague recollection of a dream before the last one. Where Seamus had been dying on the ground and then the flash of white light. "That's good to hear." Zero told her.

"You should try to get some more sleep." Andromeda suggested calmly as Zero reached out and toyed with Seamus' hair worriedly. His face was still very pale and drawn and his eyes flitted about under his eyelids in a dream but he was looking much healthier and he was clearly no longer in any pain.

"I don't think I'll manage it." Zero told her. "I'll be in the core until morning."

"What do you need to research?" Zero looked sideways at the sickbay computer screen where the core-AI appeared to him.

"I suppose you'll see." Zero told her. He left the sickbay and made his way down through the ship to his own lab of computers, both stand-alone and networked and was soon uplinking himself into Andromeda's AI core. He found himself surrounded in her programmes and was soon joined by the core-AI image.

"Anywhere you would like to start?" She asked.

"How many records of the mass deaths of Nietzscheans do you have in your databanks?" Zero asked simply.

Andromeda took it calmly without any sign of shock and a program began running behind her. Zero found himself surrounded in a few files. "There are six files of examples fitting that description within my datafiles." Andromeda told him.

"How many show numbering in the thousands or tens of thousands?" Zero asked.

She tilted her head slightly and five out of the six fell down into the ground. "Only one shows evidence of that size. The deaths of twelve hundred Nietzschean men, women and child when the Magog first invaded this Galaxy."

"Men, women and children?" Zero frowned thinking over what he could remember of his dream. "That's not right, and I don't think the number is high enough. All I saw was a sea of Nietzschean adults. No children."

"That is the closest file I have on any situation involving large numbers of Nietzschean..."

"Yeah, okay." Zero cut her off. "Are you including the _Eureka Maru's _databanks?"

"No."

"Do that then." Zero told her. It was only a few moments before and few more files appeared yet they stayed low to the ground.

"The only additional files found refer to smaller numbers than you have mentioned." Andromeda told him.

"Forget it then." Zero shook his head.

"What was it that you saw?" She asked.

"I saw tens of thousands of Nietzscheans burned in a flash of fire and I saw..." Zero forced himself to stop, remembering the feel of Seamus sobbing against him. "I think I'm done. If there's nothing in your data files I'll just have to work it out myself."

Zero backed out of the core and sat up straight in his chair. Andromeda's image appeared on one of the networked computers. "If you wish for something to do then my missile tubes still need looking at."

"Anything for you my darling." Zero flashed a smile. "I'll meet you in the missile control room."

Her image vanished and as Zero went to leave the room he made a brief stop at his cabinet of viruses and found one that would isolate the missile overrides from the control room. He couldn't waste this opportunity of having a reason to be messing with the system. Izus' scream from his dream rang clear through his head.

XOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOX

**Main Control Deck**

Zero was working on the fire control console when he heard a man's footsteps behind him. It was too heavy to be Seamus and it was definitely not a Nietzschean or a Magog and so he wasn't surprised when it was Dylan Hunt that spoke up. "Rommie tells me you've been rather busy this morning."

"I've just finished working out the kinks in the missile control software." Zero told him. "I've also worked out the slight guidance problem we recorded in the first encounter."

"That's a lot to get done in a morning." Dylan pointed out.

"I've been up a while."

"Dreaming again?" Dylan asked as he settled into the pilot's chair. Zero shrugged but grunted out a non-committal noise when he realised that Dylan hadn't seen his shrug. "Anything of use?"

"Not that I can understand." Zero gritted his teeth at his own disappointment in his own abilities. "Just a massacre that I can't work out."

"Oh yes, Rommie mentioned it." Dylan sighed. "Tens of thousands of Nietzscheans."

"There is no force of that number anymore." Zero jumped and cursed himself as he was snuck up on. By a Nietzschean none-the-less. Tyr tilted his head forwards in apology to Zero who straightened up and turned back to the console as Tyr headed for the other side of Dylan before he continued speaking. "The last time such numbers were seen was during the fall of the Commonwealth."

"So you really don't need to worry, Zero." Dylan told him. "If there is no such thing as ten-thousand Nietzscheans in one place then there's no chance of them all getting massacred."

"I don't think he'd see that as a bad thing." Tyr said with an accusing tone.

Dylan raised an eyebrow at Zero in challenge. "There's at least two human slaves for every Nietzschean. Ten thousand dead Nietzscheans means twenty-thousand freed humans."

Tyr surprised Zero by chuckling even as Dylan stared at him in surprise. Zero frowned suddenly as he saw a flash of something as he looked at Tyr. It was suddenly clear to him who the little boy in his dream had been. He'd been Tyr.

"What is it, boy?" Tyr snapped suddenly and Zero realised he'd been staring. His body jolted in shock at the harsh term and he drew back away from the console and instinctively drew himself as small as possible. A strange sensation worked its way up his spine, a need to get a wall to his back and also to confront Tyr and take out the threat. He fought it down and looked back at a worried looking Dylan and a staring Tyr.

"I saw you in my dream last night. You were there twice." Zero frowned.

"Dreams!" Tyr scoffed. "Keep me out of your night time fantasies boy."

"He's been quite accurate so far, Tyr." Dylan almost interrupted him. "He saw those children, the supernova, the Magog dying and this last attack even down to Harper falling ill. Give him a chance."

Zero got the hint to continue when Dylan turned back to him. "It's not like I ever understand them." He defended. "You looked confused first, divided between something. The second time you were just a kid, upset over something that was happening. I think it was linked with the Nietzscheans I saw killed."

"That's a lot of assumptions." Tyr scoffed.

"Then don't listen to me then." Zero snapped. "I didn't ask you to!"

Before Zero could lose his courage at speaking like that to a Nietzschean, or anybody for that rate, he almost fled from the room and headed for the sickbay. He found Harper sitting up against the back of the bed drinking water through a straw from a cup that Beka was holding up to him. Zero froze up at the site of his new Master and even as he was pushing the thought of her being his Master to the side she looked up and everything he feared about being a slave came back to him.

He looked down at his feet and took a step backwards to try to leave the room. "Stop!" Beka shouted and he froze up almost trying to hunch in on himself. "What the hell are you playing at, Zero?"

He didn't dare answer or look up but it seemed that Harper was going to speak up instead. "Zero, she's not going to punish you for letting me get hurt." He told him.

"Don't be ridiculous!" Beka scoffed and Zero heard her stand up. He felt the little hairs on the back of his neck rise up and he almost tried to find a wall to put at his back. She stopped a few feet from him and sighed. "If anyone should have realised this could have happened it was me. And stop worrying about me punishing you, I'm not that kind of girl unless you betray me or my crew and then I'll simply shoot you."

Zero looked up at her sharply and forced himself to meet her eyes realising that he didn't care if she killed him for what he had planned, as long as it worked.

XOXOXOXOXOXOXOX

**A week later**

Zero looked out of the window of the observation deck. He liked to sit on the curved window sill and look out at the stars around the ship with the smell of the flowers and plants that decorated the room. It was either here or the Hydroponics bay but that didn't have any big windows and hanging around where Trance was wasn't a good place to get peace and quiet.

From where he was sitting he could just about make out the large asteroid where a tribe of Nietzscheans had taken up residence. They were pirates that preyed on the local merchant shipping and had made enemies of the Than in the process, a powerful race that had made it through the fall of the Commonwealth more intact than most over races. They did have a strong weapon that they'd used against attacking Than ships and it was only Andromeda's quick demands that had saved one of the Than pilots.

Dylan had rightly told Zero to stay out of the way on this one in case he took up a Force Lance at the first sight of any of the Nietzscheans but this whole situation was bringing back the dreams he'd had and the ones about Tyr were getting stronger. Earlier that day Zero had run into Tyr and the look of indecision on his face had been so familiar that he'd stood frozen as the man walked passed. There was a small difference in his dreams though, Andromeda had appeared standing beside Zero on one side whilst a beautiful Nietzschean woman stood on his other side. Every time he went through the dream the image that went into Andromeda became stronger

He wondered whether it could mean that Tyr was making a decision. It wasn't a far stretch to come to the conclusion that Tyr was choosing between staying on _Andromeda_ and staying with this Pride of Nietzscheans. He'd said to Dylan just an hour ago that he thought from his dreams that Tyr would choose _Andromeda_ over the Nietzscheans and Dylan had surprised him by actually listening to him without comment.

Zero was close to falling asleep on his window sill when he heard the distant alarm that told him that the ship had gone into lock down, or rather somebody had locked down his door and who knew how many other. He sighed and with surprising calmness he stood up and made his way to the door controls as he pulled a data cable and tablet from beside him. He tended to always walk around with them handy just in case.

He plugged the data tablet into the wall socket and opened the intrusion program he'd designed and downloaded into his own tablet as well as Harper's that allowed them access without Andromeda being able to argue it. Using them to get into her mainframe was another problem though and even this program didn't give him full access. It wasn't long before he found out what had happened, Tyr had used his personal codes to activate the security lockdown of all non-essential areas of the ship, thus closing off everybody. He'd also shut down all internal sensors, blinding Andromeda to any intruders.

_"What do you think?"_ The message appeared on the edge of his screen right above the little link that gave him access to Harper's data tablet if it was connected into the system. Harper was talking to him.

_"Tyr's locked down the ship. Mutiny I think. Where are you?"_ Zero typed in quickly.

_"My lab, can you release the lockdown?"_ Harper asked.

_"In a few minutes."_ Zero told him confidently. He didn't get a response from Harper so he sat himself down on the floor and opened up a series of programs on his data tablet before setting to work, firstly removing Tyr's security access which wasn't easy in itself and then convincing Andromeda's security files that there was no need to lock down the non-essential parts of the ship. After that he did the easier task of reactivating the internal security and sensors.

Finally allowed to use the ship's communication's system he spoke up. "Captain Hunt?"

_"Yes, Zero."_ Dylan's amused voice came back. _"I take it we have you to thank for releasing control of the ship back to Andromeda?"_

 "I'll have to do a few smoothing out tasks later but she's working properly again." Zero told her. "You should know, it wasn't an outside intrusion."

_"I know, Zero."_ Dylan told him seriously _"Tyr had his reasons."_

"Nietzscheans always have reasons but they won't necessarily do us any good." Zero retorted.

_"He made his choice, Zero."_ Dylan pointed out. _"The one you predicted, let's just leave it at that. How about you smooth over the problems and report to me later?"_

"Yes, Captain." Zero told him demurely before walking from the room and down through the ship to his main lab where he could do the work better. He couldn't help shaking the sense of dread though, every night this last week he'd dreamt of this choice and of the massacre and now that he'd seen the proof of Tyr's choice it brought the rest of the dream into truth whereas before it still could have been just a random dream fuelled by his hate of Nietzscheans.

He paused at a junction and rubbed at his nose where he could feel a headache coming along. He shuttered his eyes for only a second but then they shot open again as all he saw was a flash of bright light and the faces of burning Nietzscheans.

"Why can't I ever dream of something useful?" Zero asked himself.

"I'd say what you've dreamed thus far is useful." Andromeda told him as she appeared in one of the wall screens. Zero glanced at her before sighing and walking down the right corridor towards his lab. What he'd really meant was if he could dream more about Izus and Joseph so that he could find more information on where they were. Ever since he'd hear Izus cry for him in his dream a week ago he'd been obsessed with finding her to the point that he'd started taking risks around the ship.

XOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOX

**A few days later**

"I swear I don't know what you mean." Harper raised his hands up by his head in mock defeat. Zero had been commenting on the newly screwed up computer interface with the forward energy deflectors that has blown out when a power surge emitted from the area Harper had been working on. Harper had denied any such power surge but Zero was sure the man was claiming such just to irritate him. The problem was that it wouldn't just be a physical maintenance job but he'd have to redo all the computer software for the area as well and every little new task on _Andromeda_ was a learning curve for Zero and he had to rely on his natural talent in all things computer like to get things done to the right standards for a warship of her magnitude.

"Sure you don't." Zero rolled his eyes.

"You know you're becoming more and more sarcastic." Harper observed completely uncaring to the glare Zero sent his way. "What ever happened to the slave?"

"You want him back?" Zero asked gently, without his earlier irritation.

Harper looked startled and his expression became serious in an instant. "Definitely not." He told Zero with a small smile. "I like this version of you."

Zero couldn't help the blush that he could feel starting to rise up his neck and turned to the side hoping that Harper hadn't noticed it. "Why don't we go get started fixing..."

He trailed off as the all too familiar alert sounded that told them that the ship was about to jump into Slipstream. The ship lurched and Zero steadied himself with a curse as he fumbled with the two data tablets he was holding. "I didn't think anything was planned." Harper mused as the ship settled into Slipstream though it was more jerky than normal.

"As if they'd tell the two people keeping the ship working that they were taking it for a spin." Zero sighed. Harper opened his mouth to respond when the ship slammed sideways and Zero knew it had lost its grips on the Slipstream cables. "Who the hell is piloting?" Zero gasped out just as the ship slammed against something.

From there it just got worse and for the next half a minute the ship was slammed about within Slipstream until with a strange listing lurch they were dumped back into normal space. "Wonderful, and I bet there's more for us to fix." Harper sighed.

Zero shot him a small smile and Harper returned it. Zero glanced at one of his lab's networked computers. "Andromeda?" Zero asked piloting. "What happened?"

It took only a second before Andromeda appeared on the screen yet that meant she'd been busy somewhere else. "We were giving Trance a small flying lesson?"

"Did it go well?" Harper jousted.

"Is there any damage?" Zero cut across Harper's sarcastic comment before Andromeda could respond.

"The Slipstream is down." She reported. "My SPG lenses are completely fried."

"That looks like a job for you, Shay." Zero shrugged. "I'll do a quick diagnosis of the Slipstream navigation system just in case anything fed back there."

"You can tell our intrepid Captain we'll have you back up and running in no time." Harper grinned cheekily at the screen.

Zero spent about an hour jacked into the ship's mainframe running a diagnosis of all the computer programmes required for Slipstream and didn't find anything that needed to be fixed. After he was finished he headed up to Command to find most of the crew talking. Dylan looked at him as he entered obviously having just paused in something he was saying. "The good news is the Slipstream is damaged purely because of physical problems. As soon as Harper sorts out the lenses we're good to go."

"So that's good news?" Beka jabbed playfully. "That's it's only physical."

"Hey." Harper laughed as he grinned at his Captain. "As much as I would love to say otherwise the Slipstreams far harder to fix if the computer programmes go down."

"If anything needed rewriting it could takes days or weeks." Zero told her. "Harper should be done with the repairs in a few hours at most."

"Oh." Beka raised her eyebrows at him. Zero shrugged knowing that she found it weird that Harper and Zero always seemed to know what the other was doing around the ship. It was purely because they'd linked their diagnostic tools together so that at anytime they could access the work the other was doing. In this case Zero had been talking to Harper through his data tablet from within the mainframe.

"So where did Trance put us?" Zero asked in general.

"We were just discussing that." Dylan frowned. "We're in the Witchhead Nebula."

"Don't look at me." Zero pointed out. "I've never heard of it before."

"It's in the Orion branch of the Milky Way Galaxy." Beka told him. "And the site of the Commonwealth's last stand against the Nietzscheans."

"Except there's no sign of a battle on that scale." Dylan frowned again.

"Maybe it didn't happen here?" Zero asked and finally made his way to the front of Command where one of the screens showed the Nebula. He ignored the others as Harper returned to fixing the lenses and the others tried to manoeuvre the ship further from the disturbances of the Nebula. He couldn't quite shake the feeling of having seen this before.

"I'm detecting a Slipstream event." Rommie announced from where she was standing behind Zero, probably wondering why he was so dazed. Zero took a step away from the screen just as it changed to show a ship very similar to the _Andromeda Ascendant _but perhaps a little smaller. As Zero watched an explosion ripped across the top of the ship, followed by more smaller ones than he could count. The ship almost seemed to jerk under the weight of the explosions before it exploded.

Zero jerked backwards into Rommie who caught him and turned him back to the room. They were all looking at him in concern yet his attention was on the screen Zero had been looking at where an alien woman's image was displayed. She was talking. "Dylan, you've been missing for thirteen months. The entire duration of the war."

"I...uh..." Dylan turned his attention back on the woman though the rest of the crew were looking at Zero. Rommie still hadn't let go of his arm and he knew his hands were shaking slightly. "It must have been some temporal distortion from the black hole."

"Well you're back now and not a moment too soon." She smiled but it wasn't a happy smile. "This is the end of the line, Dylan. We've been fighting the Nietzscheans for more than a year, and we have not been winning. Admiral Stark has ordered every remaining High Guard ship to assemble here. In two days, we're heading straight for Fountainhead, to take out the Nietzschean homeworld."

"The Battle of Witchhead?" Harper gasped quietly. "We're here!?"

"And we're going to be right in the middle of it." Tyr growled. Zero tuned them out as he watched the woman's image disappear from the screen to be replaced by the image of the ship hanging in space, undisturbed by explosions or death. But Zero wasn't fooled, he'd felt it die, not just seen it with his eyes. He'd felt it like he was the ship.

"Right Zero, spill it!" Dylan ordered. Rommie tightened her grip around his arm slightly and Zero turned to looked at the Captain.

"You really want to know?" Zero asked.

"Yes." Dylan told him.

"I saw that ship being destroyed by hundreds of explosions." Zero told him.

"Now that's an active imagination." Tyr remarked harshly.

Zero turned to look at the ship again before turning back to look at Tyr, the first time he'd chosen to talk directly to him or ask him a question. "How many Nietzschean ships will be here? How many Nietzscheans?"

"You're other dream?" Harper asked.

"It's been getting stronger. Maybe this is what it's about?" Zero asked.

"We should help the High Guard fleet against the Nietzscheans, destroy them and save the Commonwealth." Harper suggested. "It fits with Zero's dreams."

"And we are to forever base our decisions off of the whims of a boy!?" Tyr scoffed.

"I don't think we can change what I see." Zero spoke quietly. "Especially if what I saw happens in this place, three hundred years in the past. We can't change past events."

"Actually there are two theories." Rommie spoke up, finally releasing Zero. "That our timeline is continuous with this one."

"Where everything we do has already happened and nothing will change." Dylan put in.

"Or the second theory of multiple possible futures, where everything we do could have massive implications." Rommie continued.

"I don't think that last one's possible." Zero put in. "If the future isn't set in some way then how do you explain my dreams?"

"Chance?" Rommie asked. "Probability."

"It's more than that." Zero told her in particular. "I feel it. I just know that what happens here can't be changed. Somehow I know that the past can't be altered no matter what you attempt to do. When we pulled you out of the black hole in our own time this had already happened. You were at the battle the first time it happened. We're technically already replaying events that have already happened."

"How do you know that?" Dylan asked.

Zero shrugged. "Maybe something from before I lost it all?"

Tyr scoffed and turned to leave. Zero watched as he paused and slowly turned to glare at Zero. Zero started and took a step back feeling Rommie take hold of his arm again. He knew then that Tyr knew something about what his dream meant but he didn't know whether he had the nerve to go and ask him.

XOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOX

**After a night's sleep**

Zero's dreams were filled with people crying out in anger, pain and dismay. People crying out in their last moments. They echoed within his mind broken only by the ever more frequent sound of Izus calling for him. He woke up hours later with the distinct feeling of Harper curled up in his arms crying into his naked chest. Zero sighed and stretched out in his empty bed and knew he'd have to go find out what Harper could possibly blame himself that badly for. He also needed to pay a visit to his lab at some point when he had a few free hours. Part of his dream about Izus calling him had involved missiles being fired from satellites at _Andromeda_ and he wanted to make sure they'd never hit their target.

He went first to Harper's lab but found it empty. "Andromeda? Where's Harper?" He asked automatically.

"Harper is confined to his quarters." She told him as she appeared as a hologram. "Dylan would like to speak to you up in Command as soon as you were awake."

"What about?" Zero asked.

"You'd best just go talk to him." She told him.

Zero sketched a mock salute and decided to just ask Dylan why Harper was locked into his room. The man was sitting in the piloting chair as Zero approached. On the screen was the picture of the _Renewed Valor_ still sitting peacefully. Tyr was there as well Trance, Rev and Beka. Zero looked around them all before coming to stand beside Dylan's chair.

"We're about to leave." Dylan told him. "The _Valor_ is going to go first."

"They're coming back with us?" Zero asked.

Dylan nodded. "Have you seen anything about this?"

"I saw her destroyed." Zero told him.

"By what?" Beka asked.

"I don't know." Zero shrugged. "I only saw outer hull explosions."

"Weapons fire." Tyr grunted even though he said it in such a way to show that he still didn't believe Zero.

"Well once we leave here then she won't explode and Harper won't get the chance to cause the massacre in your dreams." Dylan told him.

"What?" Zero turned to him. "Harper?"

"A catalyst weapon he's designed to detonate the Nebula like a giant mine." Beka told him. "Big enough to wipe out the Nietzschean fleet."

"The _Renewed Valor_ is approaching the Slipstream portal." Andromeda announced from the screen.

"Looks like we're about to test your theory on not being able to change the past." Beka put in.

"Or the future." Zero put in quietly just as a Slipstream portal opened up in the far distance and a stream of small dark ships poured out followed by dozens of larger ones.

"I'm detecting a swarm of new ships." Andromeda reported from the screen. "Multiple vectors, ranging three light minutes."

"The _Valor_." Dylan almost groaned even as Zero watched his vision come true. They all watched as the swarm of ships turned on the _Valor_ before it could react. Explosions ripped into it until it exploded just as it had to Zero not half a day ago.

"Too late." Tyr told everybody.

"It was too late when we saw them." Rommie announced. "These images are already three minutes old."

"Come about 180, maximum stealth mode." Dylan ordered letting the ship drive itself.

"What about your friend?" Beka asked.

"My friend died three hundred years ago." Dylan sighed. "Take us into the Nebula."

"I'm sorry, Dylan." Zero said quietly. Dylan looked up and over to him and rubbed at his head. "I can't even stop something you warn me about."

"I'm not sure that's why I get them." Zero told him. "I don't know why I get them."

"Something isn't right here." Rev suddenly spoke up from the sensors. "Tyr? How many ships did you say the Nietzscheans had?"

"The historical record reads five hundred." Tyr told him.

"I'm reading closer to _fifteen_ hundred." Rev said with his usual calm.

"Three times as many as they're supposed to have." Trance pointed out as if they weren't already all thinking it. Zero was looking at Tyr though, he hadn't been surprised to find out about the extra ships and he was looking directly at Zero waiting for him to say something.

They settled into the Nebula with Beka at the helm and Zero standing beside her. "We must have changed the timeline." Dylan said after almost half an hour or near silence.

"Or something we will do." Rev pointed out.

"Before the battle." Beka added in.

"Which according to my analysis is in little under four hours." Andromeda told them from the screen.

"Harper's device." Beka put in.

"A fusion catalyst." Dylan sighed. "If these records are right, the only way we can preserve history and prevent the rise of a Nietzschean Empire and ensure that our timeline remains intact is to destroy over a thousand Nietzschean ships."

Zero looked at Beka as she turned to him. "Looks like Harper gets to have his fun after all."

"He won't find it fun, Beka." Zero told her sadly. "I've seen him after it. He breaks apart."

"Revenge is never as good as you think it will be." Dylan spoke up from closer than Zero had expected. He hadn't realised anybody else had heard their conversation.

"Sometimes it's necessary though." Zero told him before turning. "I'll help Harper with the device calibration."

XOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOX

**Later**

Zero watched as Harper signed off his recorder with a defeated sigh. He just made history and fulfilled Zero's visions but Zero could actually see the life drained out of Harper so there was none of the normal exuberance. Imagining something like this was different to actually committing it. Zero helped Harper clear up his equipment in silence even as Andromeda reported to them that they were back in their own time and soon they went their separate ways to get some rest. Zero wasn't exactly tired but he knew somehow that what he'd seen in his dreams wasn't far away. He got into bed but waited up and eventually his door chime went and he got up and let in a pale and shaky Harper.

"Shay." Zero sighed.

"I..." Harper shuddered. Zero pulled him inside and wrapped him in a warm hug even though he wasn't used to them really. Harper's warm exposed chest felt nice against him and when Harper's bare arms came up around Zero's own exposed torso Zero finally felt safe for the first time since he'd woken up from the crash year before.

He pulled Harper back into the bed and Harper curled up into his side, hiding his face in Zero's neck as they held each other. It was barely five minutes before Zero felt tears on his shoulder and could feel Harper crying almost silently. Zero stayed awake for three hours as Harper slowly fell asleep and then simply so he could feel that sensation of finally being safe and protected in the arms of somebody he could love.

XOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOX

End Chapter


	6. Unavoidable betrayal

Sacrifice

A/N; Please read the message in bold at the top of my profile regarding updates. Please enjoy.

Chapter 6; Unavoidable betrayal

Zero looked around the rather complex computer matrix his virtual body was currently standing in the middle of. It wasn't anywhere near as advanced as Andromeda's yet but he was building it up. Mostly on instinct but he was writing and adding a dozen programs daily to the ever building nexus and it was beginning to take a very basic shape. He hadn't mentioned it to any of the others yet because he was sure that it was illegal to build up an AI from scratch like this but he also knew what the odds were against Dylan restoring the commonwealth and he needed an edge. They all needed an edge, especially Zero and Cyrus might just be able to give him that. He was working on him in every available moment he had to spare while fixing the _Andromeda _and _Maru's_ systems as well as helping Harper with his own projects and working on his less than honest project as he went along. To say that he didn't sleep much was an understatement but the others, including Andromeda, had stopped arguing with him over it because of the nightmares he invariably woke up from every time he slept.

He released a final program into the matrix forming around him before leaving the virtual space. The computer it was based on kept running and he knew that Cyrus was absorbing all of the programs, understanding how they worked and what they did and accepting them into himself. Cyrus wasn't just one program, he was an entity spawned from Zero's instincts and every program that Zero fed to him added to Cyrus' intelligence, speed and overall humanity. Within a month or so Cyrus would probably be responding to Zero and hopefully soon after that he'd be at the stage of self development and some day Zero would introduce Cyrus to the others.

Zero leaned back in his seat and stretched as Andromeda appeared on one of the screens to the right. She couldn't access the computers that Zero was building Cyrus within nor the ones that he created virus' in and slowly his computer lab was growing in size with every stop at a drift or planet where Zero could convince Dylan to get him supplies. "Perhaps you could sleep?" Andromeda asked.

"Don't ask me." Zero told her as he stood up. "Ask my crazed mind."

"Perhaps a night under meds would do you some good?" Andromeda suggested.

"I'm not waking Trance up at this hour for that. Perhaps tomorrow night." Zero shrugged.

"That is exactly what you have said the last three nights." Andromeda told him.

"Andromeda, I love you but you're mothering me." Zero told her. "And I don't even remember what that is so stop it." Andromeda gave him a rather bland look before disappearing from the screen which returned to a readout of power distribution to the AI's mainframe. Zero sighed before leaving the lab and heading down the corridor to his rooms knowing that he needed at least a little sleep.

XOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOX

_White light burst across the city, shattering buildings as if it was a great hand sweeping across the surface. A tall tower of iron sat in front of a beach and uprooted itself and the building around its feet as the light struck it, sending it crumbling into the rough sea._

_He was walking through grass soaked in blood but he was trying not to look down. Something grabbed his ankle and he looked right down at a human's torso. His left arm was missing and everything below his waist. His face was unrecognisable under all of the blood. He couldn't be helped though and his hand went limp as the last shred of life faded from his body._

_Everything was black and he was alone in the silence until Beka ran towards him out of the darkness and aimed a Force Lance at him. Everything shifted and he found himself looking at a standoff between Beka and a man he didn't recognise who seemed to change appearance every second. Beka fired at him but the shot didn't hit him but a ghostly image of him. Everything shifted again and Beka and the man were walking away from him arm in arm except the man pulling something out of Beka's pocket, stealing from her._

_A gun fired and he heard screams as Calamy collapsed to the ground, dead. He wanted to kill all of them._

"_Zero!" Izus screamed for him._

"Zero! Damn it!" Harper shook him awake and he bolted upright, twisted his arms around Harper and threw him down to the floor, riding his body until he had Harper pinned under him.

"Shit." Zero winced as he got hold of his sanity and backed off. His head was ringing with Izus' scream and it rang to him differently than the rest of his dream, almost as if it wasn't a prediction but a cry for help. "Sorry." He told Harper before standing up and offering him his hand.

"Remind me to poke you with a stick next time." Harper told him and sat on the side of the bed. Zero noticed he was fully dressed and he checked the screen to the side to see it was quite late in the morning. He'd slept in. "Andromeda told us you were sleeping peacefully so we let you but then she started picking up a nightmare and warned me."

Zero rubbed his forehead. "Sorry."

"It's not your fault." Harper told him and stood up, heading for the door to let Zero change. "I'm going to be working on the auxiliary console in the command deck and I could use some help if you feel up to it."

Zero nodded at him just as the doors closed. Zero felt like such a screw up and his little sister's scream stung his heart. He had to do something soon or it could be too late.

XOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOX

**An hour later**

Zero sat with his back to the wall next to the open console panel with his data board plugged into the console checking through the programs while Harper did his work on the inside of the console. "So, what did you dream about?" Harper asked.

"I'm not sure yet." Zero told him. "Something quite bad and something else rather worrying and then some little bits which I keep getting but don't seem to tell me anything."

"What's the point in that?" Harper asked.

"I think they might be my own memories." Zero frowned.

"That's good though if they are, isn't it?" Harper asked.

"I hope they're not. They're the worst part of my dreams." Zero sighed. "If that's what my life was I don't think I want to remember it."

"If it's really bad then maybe you did grow up on Earth." Harper pointed out. "I've got my own few horrible memories from there."

"Maybe." Zero sighed. "I've asked Andromeda to run a search on the details I gave her."

"You know I doubt..." Harper started.

"I know." Zero tried not to sound harsh. "But I haven't got a lot of other leads."

Harper nodded and returned to his work and Zero went back to his own. He'd actually had Andromeda run two searches. One for massacres like the one he kept dreaming about in recent Earth history and also for that iron tower with the building around its base and the beach in front of it. He knew it was a long shot especially when you considered how many worlds that tower could be a part of but it looked as though a lot of people were going to be killed and he wanted to at least try to do something about it. As for finding his own history that was an even greater long shot. Even when you only looked in recent Earth history it left a lot of gaps especially with information gained from drifts and the _Maru_ rather than the Commonwealth database.

They worked together for about an hour before Zero had finished his part of the job and headed for his lab, intending to either work on a couple of Virus', Cyrus or to look through the search results if Andromeda had finished her scan. In the end he worked on a clearance Virus, one designed to work around Andromeda to remove any intruding Virus. He'd add it to Cyrus after it was complete as well, to allow Cyrus to clear the Andromeda of virus' if the situation ever arose. He also started work on a control virus to give to Cyrus at a later date if he ever found a situation where leaving Andromeda in command of the ship wasn't a good idea. Unfortunately he couldn't risk waiting for Cyrus to be ready before he did something about Izus and Joseph. He had a feeling deep in his gut that time was running out for them, wherever they were.

"Hey, Zero." Beka's voice made him look up and he smiled at her before looking down briefly to pause his work. He didn't have to worry about her seeing the virus' since she didn't know the first thing about computer software and she wouldn't have any idea of what this one did.

"Hey." He said after a moment where she came in and sat on the edge of one of the consoles. "Did you need something?"

"I just thought you could use some company." Beka told him. Zero eyed her before looking down and sighing. "How are you handling things?"

"Things?" Zero asked.

"Your dreams, nightmares?" Beka prompted. "All these premonitions."

"They're tiring I suppose." Zero sighed. "And I don't know why I'm getting them but even with them I'm better off here then I was back there."

"I suppose that's something." Beka nodded. "But I'm worried about you. You work too much, even Harper says so, and when you do sleep you end up screaming. You're my crew and I'm worried about how long you're going to last."

"I'll last as long as I need to." Zero told her simply meaning until he rescued his family from slavery. Beka sighed. "Beka? Do you have any family left?"

"Where did that come from?" She asked. Zero shrugged. He couldn't very well say that thinking about Joseph and Izus had reminded him of the man in his dream.

"Just a thought." Zero shrugged. "Do you have a brother?"

"Yeah..." She frowned at Zero suspiciously. "Do I want to know why you know that?"

"Do you get along?" He asked.

"I think I might just crucify him the next time we meet." She told him. "Spill, Zero. What do you know?"

"I don't know anything!" Zero raised his hands in surrender. Just as Beka looked as though she was going to demand answers the alarms went off. "Andromeda?"

"We're currently collecting a stranded Wayist ship." Her screen image told them both.

Beka sighed tragically and waved goodbye to Zero as she left his lab and Zero grinned slightly for no reason. That grin quickly faded once he returned to work knowing that they'd probably never forgive him for what he had planned.

"Zero, I've completed the searches you requested." Andromeda's hologram appeared only six inches tall on the side of his computer console.

"Anything?" Zero asked.

"I'm afraid nothing on the search on Earth for massacres like you described since the fall of the Commonwealth. Several fit the description from before Earth joined the Commonwealth." Andromeda told him. Zero shook his head and gave up on that line of query.

"Just save that criteria in case I get anything more." Zero requested. She nodded to show she had. "What about the tower?"

"I have four hundred and sixty eight thousand, two hundred and eleven possible matches across Commonwealth worlds matching your criteria." Zero sighed and spun his chair to face one of her consoles and plugged in his dataport to a wireless connector he and Harper had gotten a hold of recently for this sort of thing. He shut his eyes and relaxed into the chair as his mind slipped into the mainframe's virtual world.

"Alright, Andromeda. Let's assume it's of the future." Zero told her. "How many are still standing?"

"Slightly more than two hundred thousand." She told him.

"What about ones that have collapsed other than in explosions?" He asked.

"Only two thousand eight hundred and two were destroyed in explosions." She informed him.

"Okay so either it's in the past and I can look through pictures and find it or it's in the future and I have no chance of looking through them all." Zero sighed.

"Logic states looking through past images first to either find the correct tower or eliminate that side of the search." She offered.

Zero frowned and thought for a moment. He'd assumed during the dream that it had had something to do with premonitions and not about the past and if it was to do with the past perhaps it was to do with Earth. "How many of the original search findings are based on Earth?"

"Four she told him simply." Andromeda waited for a moment. "None are still remaining."

"You know what I want to ask." He sighed.

"One that matches your description was destroyed after an explosion before Earth joined the Commonwealth. Earth standard year one-nine-nine-eight." She told him.

"Do you have an image?" Zero asked.

"Checking..." She paused. "I do."

"Show me." Zero requested. He knew it was a long shot so he was surprised when the image she opened for him was a perfect replica of the tower from his dream. He winced and hung his head. "Save that, Andromeda. That's the one."

"The tower was known as the Blackpool Tower, a standing tourist feature of the pre-Commonwealth Earth country of Great Britain."

"What was the explosion?" Zero asked.

"The cause of the explosion was classified by Commonwealth Intelligence. I do not have the information in my database." She looked rather offended by the idea.

"Run a search on the classification, she if it corresponds to any of the searches I've done on my dreams. See if you can tie it all together for me." Zero requested.

"I shall do what I can." She told him before vanishing from sight. Zero jacked out to return to his work and try to work out why, yet again, he was dreaming about an event in the past. And this time he was dreaming about an event not only three hundred years in the past but thousands.

"Andromeda?" Zero asked and the holographic image appeared as well as one of the screens, showing she'd been giving him much of her attention. "Can we keep that all between us?"

"Of course. Why?" Her core asked.

"I don't need them all thinking I'm going insane seeing things that far back." Zero sighed almost to himself.

"You are not going insane." She told him simply.

"Andromeda. I don't know what's in my past and from what I keep seeing and feeling is my own memories I don't think I could possibly have still been sane." Zero rubbed at his face before spinning the seat around to face Cyrus' consoles.

Her hologram followed him, standing on Cyrus' screen. "You won't go insane if your memories come back." She told him sternly.

"You're an optimistic battleship." Zero chuckled. "Whatever next?

XOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOX

**The next day**

Zero wasn't going to uplink into Andromeda's mainframe while it was being overrun by nanobots but he could still prevent most of her systems from going haywire from the outside though most of what he could achieve was basically shutting the systems down rather than letting them go into chaos. Unfortunately that left them with not much more than emergency power and life support systems and with Harper taking a field trip as of the day before it was up to him to fix the problem that the fake Wayist monk had caused. He looked up as his door opened and he found himself looking at Dylan, Beka and her brother who had conned his way on board as the monk's assistant.

"We need something, Zero." Dylan told him. "Rafe has agreed to send it to the Resters pretending it to be our access codes."

"You mean you want a kill virus?" Zero asked as he stopped working. "I've got a couple, I assume you want immediate?

"That would be nice." Rafe told him.

Zero rolled his chair back to his filing cabinet and opened the middle draw and rummaged around inside for a second. "It's a good thing I'm prepared isn't it." Zero told him and chucked a small black chip at Rafe who caught it. "Send it to them just like you would stolen access codes, it'll do the rest."

"Will they realise?" Dylan asked.

"Not until their missile targeting software targets their own ship after launch." Zero told them. "You'll need to send that to all of the ships."

"Impressive." Rafe looked at the small black chip he was holding before pocketing it.

"Yes, well, I've got work to do." Zero turned back to the linked consoles and let them leave. He paused as the doors shut and wondered what Rafe would steal from Beka but that section of the dream hadn't concerned him so he wasn't too worried about lasting damage.

It was a while later and the Rester ships were gone when Zero walked onto the command deck to see Dylan congratulating Beka and Rafe on one of the screens. "Beka?" Zero asked. "Scan for the _Maru's_ secondary frequency."

"Zero?" Beka's image asked but by her movement she already was. "Four contacts."

"My virus was programmed to eject the black boxes of the ships before they were destroyed and to set their homing frequency to the _Maru_." Zero explained.

"Good thinking, Zero." Dylan nodded from the pilot's seat. "They might tell us something useful about the Resters' movements or bases."

"Glad to be of assistance." Zero said demurely and Beka smiled at him before cutting the connection and going to collect the black boxes for study, probably one of Zero's jobs. "Andromeda, are you completely back up and running?" Zero asked her.

"I'm working perfectly." Rommie told him.

"The nanobots are being cleared up but it may take some time to return core efficiency to full." The core told him and the hologram nodded.

"Let me know once the core is clear of nanobots and I'll come in and help soothe things out. I don't want to risk jacking in with those things in there." Zero said the last bit to Dylan to explain the delay even though he didn't ask.

"I know the feeling." The core told him with a uncharacteristic grimace before she disappeared.

"In the mean time I'll be down in environmental trying to fix the damage Tyr's attempts at engineering had on the consoles." Zero said ignoring the dark glare he got from the Nietzschean.

XOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOX

**Two weeks later**

Zero didn't knock as he walked into the observation deck to see the sight of the black hole through the window. They'd returned to the infamous black hole to do some tests on it with the Persiads and Harper had been jumping at the opportunity. Zero wasn't all that bothered about it since all it did was muck with Andromeda's systems and he'd spent the last four days trying to adjust her settings to compensate for it. Everything had gone out of the proverbial window from there when Dylan had sent a message into the black hole to his ex-girlfriend and through some freak phenomenon Sarah had responded from three hundred years in the past. Harper and the Persiads had managed to actually use the black hole to send Dylan back in time to her in the hopes of bringing her back to the present but they hadn't been able to do the latter part.

Dylan was leaning on the banister just in front of the window ledge where Zero had first sat when Dylan had convinced them all to join him in his quest. Zero approached quietly and settled his arms on the banister next to him making the High Guard Captain jump slightly and look at him. "Zero, I'm really not up to talking right now. Can it wait?"

"No, Dylan." Zero told him quietly. "I don't think it should."

"What?" Dylan sounded tired but he wasn't taking his irritation out on Zero's interruption.

"I know you're saddened by this all, Dylan, but some things are just set in stone." Zero told him.

"Did you see this?" Dylan turned to him, a small amount of anger in the back of his eyes.

"I didn't see Harper fail to bring her back." Zero defended. "What I saw was happy."

"Happy? How is any of this happy?" Dylan argued.

"I didn't see any of this but I did see her, before her image appeared on the screen." Zero told him, ignoring Dylan's demands. "In my dream she was happy. Dylan, she survived the war. She lived on a planet with a good atmosphere, protected. She got married and had children. I've seen hundreds of children down through generations. I think they are still around. Sarah's descendents that is."

Dylan stared at him for a moment before turning his back on the black hole and leaning his back on the banister. "Sorry I snapped at you."

"I know you're having a bad time lately, Dylan, and I know you wish for more help but you can do this and I think that you stand the best chance with the crew you've got." Zero told him.

"You've seen that?" Dylan asked hopefully.

Zero shook his head. "I just have faith."

Dylan nodded and turned back to look out of the window, leaning his elbows on the banister again. Zero stood up and put his hand on Dylan's shoulder and squeezed. "Thanks Zero."

XOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOX

**Two weeks later**

Zero looked around the virtual world a little nervously, his own mind was merely an ant compared to the ever growing system that was Cyrus. He wasn't as immense as Andromeda yet and he probably never would be since he wasn't tied into the weapons and support systems for the ship but every moment Cyrus was working on himself just as much as Zero was. It had been merely the programs building up and smoothing everything over but now there was a massive stillness in Cyrus' mainframe and the entire system had gone into self diagnosis, as close to a human self assessment as was possible. Cyrus was studying everything that had been added and done to him.

Zero was a little worried that Cyrus would dislike any number of things within himself and blame Zero for his creation. This was why AI's were illegal to create and why most didn't toy with it. The scene changed a few moments after Zero entered and the self diagnosis finished and four walls of programs appeared around him, trapping him into the virtual world. "Cyrus?" Zero asked.

"Why Cyrus?" A young voice asked from behind him. He spun to find a small boy in the walls with him. He was dressed in black jeans and a bright red t-shirt and had short spiky hair. Zero knew he'd taken the images from a database of human appearances that Zero had added a while back.

Zero worried his lip. "When I was a slave my family wanted me to pick a name to use rather than my designation. I chose Cyrus but it never felt like me but when I started creating you I just felt like it suited you."

"I like it." Cyrus told him. "You're called Zero."

"I am." Zero nodded.

"You're my father." Cyrus told him.

"I suppose you could say that." Zero told him and took a step towards him.

"Why did you create me?" Cyrus asked suddenly.

Zero couldn't help but crouch down in the virtual world so he was looking at Cyrus eye to eye even though Cyrus had only created the ten year old image to set up the exchange of words. "I did it for a lot of reasons some of them less important than others. But why I created you is because of my heart. I'm going to give you a history of my life as I know it but it's short, filled with slavery and it's not nice as far as I know. But I want something really good to come from my life and by creating you, by giving life to you, I can achieve that. You are my heart."

Cyrus grinned happily before vanishing. The walls around Zero disappeared along with him and instantly the matrix that was Cyrus burst into action, studying itself, running through all of the basic history that Zero had given him, learning from it. Zero sighed in relief and jacked out of Cyrus' console and back into his body. He'd done it, he'd created an AI from nothing more than instinct and intuition. Something he knew had never been done before.

XOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOX

Each day from then onwards Zero spent at least an hour connected into Cyrus' computer, teaching the young AI everything that he could and Cyrus spent the rest of the day absorbing information that Zero gave to him and with every day he became more and more eager to learn. He accepted that he was growing and changed his appearance to match it and within a few weeks he was taking the form of a fourteen year old and was eager for two things. An avatar to become part of the crew that Zero had told him so much about and access to Andromeda's mainframe so he could learn what it was like to be able to roam with his mind, observe more than just his own system. He wanted to be a child.

Zero also spent a lot of time keeping Andromeda running, having dreams about almost anything though much of it meant very little to him. As they approached six months since Zero had been on the ship he decided that it was time for him to make his move. He couldn't leave Izus and Joseph as slaves any longer, he had to do something about it. He readied himself over the course of several days while the ship was in transit through an area of space near to where he needed to be and once he was ready he jacked into Cyrus' mainframe and appeared in the centre.

Cyrus, wearing his black jeans and red t-shirt like always looked to be about fourteen and he hugged Zero. "Dad!" Cyrus pulled away. "Have you come to tell me more stories?"

"I'm afraid not, Cy." Zero sighed and let go of the AI. "I have to go away for a while. You remember I told you about Izus and Joseph? Well I've got to go and rescue them."

"Will you be back?" Cyrus asked, looking upset.

"I'll try, Cyrus, but the safest way to do this is not to ask Dylan and the others for help. I'm going to have to force them to do what I need to make sure it goes my way." Zero told him knowing that the AI would understand the logic behind that. "They might not trust me afterwards."

"What about me?" Cyrus asked. "I'll be alone. I don't want you to go forever."

"I'm going to leave you lots to do while I'm gone and I'm setting up a link from your consoles to Andromeda's mainframe." Zero told him. "She won't realise it's there until it activates in a month but it means if I don't come back it'll let you link with her and they'll know you're here."

"I'll miss you, dad." Cyrus hugged him.

"Even if I have to leave I'll take you with me. I'll find you a body so you can stay with me." Zero promised. "And no matter what I do this crew won't hurt you."

"Be safe." Cyrus told him.

Zero hugged him back before jacking out. He downloaded the files he'd promised Cyrus and set up the link to Andromeda's mainframe before moving to Andromeda's consoles and sitting down. He drummed on the console for a few minutes trying to get up the nerve to actually betray their trust in him but in the end it came down to the nightly screams he always heard from Izus. He'd give up his life here in an instant if it meant saving Izus and Joseph.

"Zero, are you alright?" Andromeda asked as she appeared on the screen.

"I'm fine, Andromeda." Zero choked out but he couldn't help it. "I'm sorry for this."

"For what?" She frowned. Zero slide one of his chips into the console port and hit the activation key. This virus would slide through the channels he'd created over the last few months and activate the ones he'd built in. Andromeda vanished from the screen and Zero ran from the room.

"_Intruder alert! Intruder Alert!" _Her voice rang across the ship. He hadn't forced the alert, merely let the virus create the imprints of intruders on Andromeda's internal sensors. A klaxon ran through the corridors as Zero headed for the Slipfighter Bays even as he knew that the others would be trying to find out what was happening. They'd all clear the command deck to fight the intruders, all apart from Trance and Rev until Andromeda told them that Dylan needed them both on med deck. The virus was so precise that he doubted she even knew it was there, guiding her actions yet. But she wouldn't accept his authorisation to launch a Slipfighter without telling Dylan yet so when he arrived in the Slipfighter he addressed her.

"Andromeda, activation code two-eight-one." Zero told her.

"_Intruders on Command Deck. Sealing and venting atmosphere." _She announced ship wide. The virus wouldn't have done that if there was anybody on command deck so he knew nobody would get hurt.

"Andromeda, authorise Slipfighter launch." Zero announced as soon as command was transferred to his own viruses. "Open bay doors."

"_Confirmed, Slipfighter authorised for launch."_ Andromeda told him through the display in front of him. Zero didn't respond and launched the ship through the tunnel and out into space. It would take them ten minutes at least for them to realise what was happening and Andromeda to realise she had a virus and clear it but by then he'd be at his Slip Portal. In the mean time the virus would prevent Andromeda from reporting his departure or taking control of his Slipfighter.

XOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOX

_**Andromeda Ascendant **_**– Slightly earlier**

"It's going to be about fifteen minutes before we reach the next Slipstream Portal." Beka told Dylan as she took over the pilot's chair from him. "Harper wants to just run a quick Slipstream diagnostic."

"_Intruder alert! Intruder alert!" _Andromeda announced as klaxons broke the silence.

"Andromeda! Report!" Dylan ordered.

"I have twenty-two intruders on deck eighteen, section three. Slipstream control." She told them all as she appeared on the screen.

"Harper's down there!" Beka gasped as she jumped from the chair.

"Tyr, Beka, Rommie. You're with me." Dylan told them. "Rev, Trance. Stay on command. Harper! Report!"

"_I'm here." _Harper's voice came across. _"I'm just outside Slipstream control."_

"Zero!" Beka called as the three rushed out of the room but there was no response. Rev sat in the pilot's seat to wait as he and Trance were left alone but they weren't left alone for long.

"Trance, Rev. Dylan needs you both on med deck." Andromeda told them from the screen.

"Andromeda, tell them we're on the way down." Trance told her as the two rushed from the room as well.

XOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOX

"Captain, Trance and Rev are on their way to med deck as you ordered." Andromeda's hologram told them as they stood in the middle of Slipstream control alone trying to work out why there were no intruders.

"I didn't order that." Dylan frowned looking at Beka.

"I think we're being led on." Tyr pointed out dryly. "Rather spectacularly."

"Where's Zero?" Harper looked around. "You'd think he'd be here by now."

"He didn't answer." Dylan pointed out.

"You don't think they got him do you?" Harper asked worriedly.

"I don't even think there is a _them_." Tyr drawled out as he holstered his gun.

"_Intruders on command deck."_ Andromeda announced. _"Sealing and venting atmosphere."_

"That's not good." Beka pointed out.

"Andromeda, reroute control to Slipstream control." Dylan ordered.

"I can't." Rommie told him. "Slipstream control has been overrun by intruders."

"We're standing right here, Rommie. There are no intruders." Dylan pointed out.

"Command has been rerouted to Slipfighter bay one." Rommie announced. "Trying to override." Her eyes shut as she went stiff and she tipped over backwards. Tyr and Harper caught her.

"What happened?" Dylan demanded.

"She's caught in a trap." Harper gasped. "There must be a virus in her mainframe doing all of this and whoever did it predicted Rommie would try to override it."

"You do realise who on this ship could do that." Tyr pointed out. "And he happens to be missing."

"Andromeda, locate Zero." Dylan demanded.

"_Zero is no longer on board. A Slipfighter was launched five minutes ago from Slipfighter Bay one."_ Andromeda's hologram told them as it appeared.

"Andromeda, you have a virus. Scan and diagnose." Dylan ordered.

"Scanning..." She trailed off and then vanished before flickering back on again. "Scanning..."

"Damn it!" Dylan swore. "That little liar!"

"There's nothing to prove it was him!" Harper leapt to Zero's defence.

"We need to get back to command deck." Beka pointed out.

"It's vented." Dylan cursed. "Harper, get command back."

"I can do it from outside the command deck." Harper told him and ran from the room.

XOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOX

**Five minutes later**

"Tada!" Harper grinned. "We're back in control."

"Good." Dylan nodded as the command deck doors opened and Andromeda's hologram appeared in the middle of the deck.

"Several virus' have been found in my mainframe. Three I cannot remove. They are locked in my defences but until they are removed we cannot use primary systems." Andromeda reported. "Also..."

"What, Andromeda?" Dylan asked.

"It was Zero who uploaded the virus'. He hid them until now." Andromeda told him and she sounded sad. Betrayed.

"I don't get it." Harper frowned. "He wouldn't betray us."

"It appears to me that we are all still alive and there is no permanent damage done to ship." Tyr pointed out with a laugh. "The little blighter seems to have had a secondary agenda all along. I might be starting to like him."

"Harper, get in there and remove the virus'." Dylan ordered him. Harper bit his lip and nodded, not looking happy that Zero had betrayed them. He plugged his remote uplink into his dataport and with a sigh uplinked.

Harper found himself standing in the middle of Andromeda's core mainframe and he looked around with another sigh. "Andromeda, let's have a look."

"Sorry, Harper." Zero's voice sounded behind him and, unknown to Harper, also on the screen in command deck. He spun around quickly to see a pre-recorded image of Zero in front of him. "I thought you might work this out quickly so I put in a safeguard in case you came in. Sorry, Harper but I'm shutting down your dataport for a few days."

Harper scrambled to unplug but the program was faster and the jolt he got burnt at his neck before he managed to get the remote uplink out of his port. He looked around the room in shock before looking up at the large image of Zero on the screen. "I really am sorry, guys, but some things just have to happen." Zero told them all before vanishing.

"He thought of everything." Dylan growled and they all knew that everyone was feeling betrayed.

"He must have had a reason." Rev spoke up.

"Not now, Rev." Beka told him. "We don't need all that Devine crap."

"To each his own." Rev nodded.

"Right now we're dead in space." Dylan pointed out but almost as soon as he'd said it Andromeda reappeared on the screen and with a dull hum the engines powered up.

"My systems are back online." She announced. "The virus has self deleted."

"He didn't want us dead, just delayed." Harper announced while Trance touched at his neck.

"Scan for a Slipfighter." Dylan ordered the ship.

"Slipfighter found, eight light minutes out." She announced.

"Plot an intercept course and hail it." Dylan ordered even as a map appeared on one of the screens showing the _Andromeda Ascendant_ and the Slipfighter. "Zero, answer us."

"No response to hails." Andromeda announced.

"Ready bucky cables." Dylan announced as Beka jumped into the pilot's seat.

"Zero, what are you doing?" Beka muttered even though all of them heard her. "He wouldn't betray us."

"It seems he has." Tyr pointed out. "Perhaps we should just shoot him so he can't do it again?"

"No!" Beka, Trance and Harper all yelled at him at once and he chuckled.

"Too late." Andromeda announced. "I'm detecting a Slipstream event seven light minutes ahead."

"Beka, follow him through as soon as you can." Dylan ordered.

"We're five minutes out." She announced. "We should be able to catch up to him on the other side."

"Dylan, you know those virus' didn't just delete themselves for no reason. He gave us back control." Harper pointed out.

"I know." Dylan frowned. "And too soon if he wanted to make an escape. I'll play along for now."

"You know he knows we'd work that out, right?" Harper frowned.

"If there's ever somebody who can confuse us it is Zero." Rev announced. "We may not realise his true intentions until he has finished with us."

"I don't like being his pawn." Dylan hissed. "He'll have some answering to do once we catch up to him."

It was several long minutes before they reached the Slipstream portal and they followed the trail left by the Slipfighter all the way through and back into normal space. "We are now entering the Degabar system."

"Oh god. What's he playing at?" Beka yelled.

"What do you know, Beka?" Dylan asked.

"This is where he was a slave!" Harper gasped. "He snuck onto the _Maru_ on the surface and forced us to take him."

"I'm detecting the Slipfighter three light minutes out closing on the planet." Rommie told them. "Also a substantial missile defence system around the planet."

"Is that the system Zero hijacked for his old Master?" Dylan asked.

"Yeah." Beka said. "And I really don't want to play chicken with it."

"We're about to enter range of the satellite system." Andromeda announced. "The Slipfighter is being ignored."

"It's too small for the automated system to register." Harper decided. "The _Maru_ could make it through if the _Andromeda_ played as a diversion."

"Zero got himself into that mess, he must have a plan to get out again." Dylan pointed out. "Full stop. Andromeda, keep us just out of range of the satellite network. Activate PDLs just in case."

"We've got another problem." Rommie announced. "I'm picking up a Nietzschean Cruiser coming around from behind the moon. It's on an intercept course."

"We can't just leave Zero behind." Harper pleaded.

"Like the man said, he got himself into this mess." Tyr pointed out. "This is Drago-Katsov territory. It's his problem, not ours."

"As much as I hate to say it." Dylan sighed. "I agree with Tyr."

"Dylan!" Beka gasped. "Fine, then I'm taking the _Maru_ down to haul his arse back up even if I have to put him in V-deck when I get back."

"Just wait, Beka." Dylan argued. "Andromeda, hail the Cruiser. Let's try to do this without anybody shooting at each other."

XOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOX

**On the planet**

Zero landed the Slipfighter in the trees near to his Master's old house. He had a virus to put into the satellite network to destroy it but he had to trust on Dylan's hesitance to start a fight. He hadn't expected a Cruiser to be by the planet though but he could handle that as well once he was in the house. Right on time the Slipfighter took off on autopilot and flew low as it strafed the grounds, taking out the guard shacks that Zero knew so well. People began running and he was able to slip inside without too much trouble.

He killed a couple of guards and sent a couple more slaves running for the trees. Not many of them recognised him and that pained him. Slaves around here died too quickly. He made his way for his Master's control room knowing that would be where he was with the attack happening. He killed the two guards with his two force lances and walked right in, his anger and disgust making him more confident than he'd normally be. Right up until the moment when he saw his old Master, the son and the son's friend. The one that had raped him. Zero saw red and before they could react he'd shot the friend six times in the chest.

"Zero-Eight." His old Master sneered at him. "You made a serious mistake coming here."

"Go to hell." Zero snapped and shot the man's son which didn't impress his old Master one bit. He leapt forwards with a yell of anger and Zero twisted around smashing both extended lances across the back of his head, knocking him out. Unfortunately Zero needed him alive right now. He dug around his body for his key card and logged onto the control consoles ready to finish this. He searched the database for slave transfers and breathed out a sigh of relief when he found what he wanted. Izus and Joseph's new Masters. He didn't need his old Master anymore so that was the end of him.

He slipped two of his virus' out of his pouch and slipped them into the console and activated them both. One hailed all of the Nietzschean ships in the system which was in this case the Cruiser and uploaded a virus when they accepted the supposed Nietzschean boss' call and the second one uploaded a new virus into the satellite system, turning it on the planet itself, on any of the cities that he knew were inhabited by Nietzscheans. It targeted only places that Zero knew there were no slaves like the barracks and facilities.

Zero found a group of slaves just outside of the building hiding amongst their tents. They stood up when they saw him. "Get out of here, it's about to be destroyed." Zero told them. "There are caves to the north and plenty of food in the forests."

He ran for his Slipfighter knowing that he'd have little time before his friends caught up with him and he had a date with a drift just a single jump away.

XOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOX

_**Andromeda Ascendant**_

"They're firing on us!" Tyr announced.

"Activate PDLs, defensive missiles." Dylan ordered. "Load tubes one through sixty with offensive missiles and prepare to fire."

The ship's PDLs made short work of the incoming missiles but before Dylan could speak he was interrupted. "Wait!" Harper gasped looking at his screen. "The Cruiser's stopped."

"Stopped?" Dylan frowned. "What do you mean stopped?"

"It's dead in the water." Harper told him. "No propulsion, nothing."

"The Cruiser is venting atmosphere in over two hundred places." Andromeda announced. "There's no sign of automated countermeasures."

"Scan signals." Harper told her. "Was there any signals sent to the cruiser from the surface?"

"A signal was sent from where the Slipfighter landed to the cruiser just before it lost propulsion." Rommie announced.

"Zero did think of everything." Trance looked around at them all.

"I've got something coming up from the surface." Rommie announced. "It's the Slipfighter."

"Plot an intercept course." Dylan ordered.

"The satellite system is coming online." Andromeda's hologram announced.

"Standby defensive missiles." Dylan ordered.

"They're not aiming at us." Tyr spoke up from the weapons console. "Missiles are launching down through the atmosphere. Striking anything on the surface bigger than a single house."

"You mean this was all for revenge?" Dylan asked. "That was his big scheme."

"It has to be more than that." Harper defended. "He wouldn't betray us just to pay back some bastard Nietzschean."

"Let's ask him when he's on V-deck." Dylan announced. "Andromeda, time to intercept."

"Twenty-five seconds." Rommie announced.

"Deploy bucky cables." Dylan ordered. "Reel him in. Beka, Tyr. You're with me."

"Gladly." Tyr grinned pulling his weapon.

XOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOX

**Cargo bay four**

Zero slowly got out of the Slipfighter landing just a few metres from two furious looking people and Tyr who was merely watching him. Beka and Dylan were seriously irritated at him though. Zero winced and put his force lances on the ground.

"What the hell did you think you were doing?" Beka hissed. "You hijacked _Andromeda_!"

"You betrayed our trust, Zero. Something I didn't think you'd do, especially just to get revenge." Dylan sighed.

"I had to do it." Zero told him.

"Then I have to lock you up until we can decide what to do with you." Dylan told him. "Tyr, take him down to V-deck and make sure he doesn't have anything else on him that he can use."

Dylan and Beka turned their backs on him and even though he'd known it was going to happen it still hurt him. Tyr grabbed his arm and searched him rather harshly before pushing him towards the door. "You've got some guts, kid." Tyr told him. "So, did you do it?"

"Did I do what?" Zero asked.

"Kill your old Master."

"And his son and the Nietzschean bastard that took my voice from me." Zero told Tyr with a hiss not really thinking about what he was saying and not really caring.

"I was wondering how long it would be before you got up the guts to face them." Tyr chuckled.

"Fuck off, Tyr." Zero snapped. "I didn't do it just to kill them."

"Oh? To free all the slaves too then?" Tyr chuckled again. "How noble of you."

Zero ignored him from then on and was left sitting in a cell on V-deck alone until Harper appeared on the other side about twenty minutes later. "Zero."

"Shay." Zero sighed and stood up.

"Don't call me that." Harper shut his eyes.

"Sorry." Zero sighed. "But I did it for a reason."

"I don't know what to think right now. You betrayed us. You fried my port."

"It'll work again in a couple of days." Zero countered.

"You've been lying to us for months, working behind our backs. Getting Andromeda to trust you so you could work around inside her core and place viruses." Harper hissed. "What else is in there, Zero? Did you plant anything else?"

"That's the only reason you came down to talk to me, isn't it?" Zero asked.

"Just answer the damn question, Zero." Harper ordered.

Zero stared at him for a moment before breathing out slowly. He didn't want to do this but he had to. He had to see this to the end. "There's nothing else."

"Promise me, Zero." Harper told him.

"I promise." Zero told him as sincerely as he could which was quite good after the number of times he'd had to sound sincere to his Master. He hated himself but he had to lie to him. He had to betray them again, he didn't have a choice.

Harper turned around and left Zero alone and Zero hung his head and collected himself, trying not to let himself cry knowing that he was being watched by Andromeda. It was only a matter of time now though and he didn't have to wait long for them to do what he needed. An alarm rang to announce that they were going to Slipstream but instead of actually forming it the Slipstream drive stalled out and another set of virus' hidden within Andromeda's core activated, sealing the ship to stop them all from chasing him. His cell door opened and even though he knew that Andromeda could see his actions he knew she couldn't do anything to stop him. Her internal defences, door controls and external weapons were all offline. He jogged down the corridors towards the Slipfighter bay again but stopped against one of the walls. He opened a panel and pulled out a pouch of virus chips and two force lances again before turning to look down the corridor.

"I'm sorry, guys." Zero sighed. "But I'm not done yet."

Within a few minutes he was launching from the ship in a Slipfighter and banking away. He activated a Slipstream portal as soon as he could knowing that Andromeda could scoop him up within moments since he'd left her drive online so she could follow him.

XOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOX

**Command deck – minutes ago**

"Get us out of here, Beka." Dylan sighed as Harper arrived back on command deck. They were all there again.

"Gladly." Beka declared. "Opening Slipstream portal, now."

The ship wound up but with a dull whine the Slipstream drive portal shut down. "Now what?" Dylan snapped.

"The Slipstream drive stalled." Harper told him. "I just need a few minutes to restart it."

Rommie suddenly looked up. "My internal systems are going into lock down." She told them just as the command deck's door slammed shut and locked.

"Unlock them." Dylan ordered.

"I can't." She frowned. "I've got another virus. Internal defences and doors are offline except between V-deck and Slipfighter bay one. External weapons are offline."

"Zero!" Dylan snapped.

"Internal communications are down." Rommie reported. "I've got a picture though."

The centre screen changed to show Zero walking down a corridor quickly. The picture changed as he moved through the ship. "Harper get us out of lock down or trap him!" Beka ordered him.

"I've got no chance overriding him without my port, not quick enough to stop him." Harper defended. "He lied to me. He promised there wasn't anything else."

"Clearly what he wants to do is more important than keeping a promise to you." Tyr sneered.

"Just try!" Dylan snapped. The image showed Zero pull apart a wall and pull out a few items and most notably two force lances. "This was planned too. I'm starting to feel rather ridiculous."

"Slipfighter launch from bay one." Rommie announced.

"You still have propulsion?" Dylan asked.

"Yes." Rommie nodded.

"Try to scoop him up." Beka ordered.

"Too late. He's opened a slipstream portal." Rommie informed them. "I can follow."

"Do it." Dylan snapped at Beka who jerked her head in acceptance and shoved the ship into the slipstream portal after Zero's Slipfighter.

"Damn it, he's good." Beka said as she tried to follow Zero through the tangle of strings but her task was made more difficult since Zero could slip through smaller spaces and take small shortcuts while Beka, though faster, had to take the larger routes. "I can't catch him in here but as soon as we're out I can nab him easily enough."

"Seems he's ran out of options." Rev suggested.

They lurched out of space and just as Beka adjusted her course to catch the Slipfighter everything went dark. "Going to emergency power." Rommie announced and collapsed forwards onto her console.

"Damn it!" Dylan swore and punched the side of the console he was standing at. "He planned it. Again!"

"I think I get what he's doing." Harper whispered and hung his head. "I don't believe he didn't just ask us to help."

"What are you talking about?" Beka asked even as the lights began to come back up as Andromeda came back online.

"He ran away only because his Master sent away his only remaining family. They killed the woman, Calamy, and sold Izus and Joseph." Harper looked at Trance.

"That's it. He went to Degabar system to find out where they were sent and then escaped again to go get them." Trance declared with a grin on her face.

"That's why there was another set of virus'." Harper nodded. "He knew we'd catch him before he could leave the Degabar system."

"Why let us follow him in the first place?" Dylan asked.

"Maybe so that we'd be there at the end to rescue him?" Harper tried. "He needs the _Andromeda_ around to get out once he has his family back."

"Then why not just ask us?" Dylan asked.

"If he knew he could do it this way why not?" Harper asked.

"Because if he'd asked we would have probably agreed and he wouldn't have had to betray us." Dylan pointed out.

"It's just like when he hijacked the _Maru_." Beka sighed. "It's the probably. He's refusing to take that small risk that we wouldn't help. He doesn't care what we do to him because of this as long as his family are saved."

"I liked it better when he was being selfish." Tyr grumbled.

Rommie suddenly straightened up. "I can't detect any viruses. Main power is online."

"Let's hope that's the last of them." Dylan sighed. "Andromeda, where are we?"

"We are five light minutes from the Zanchrift Drift." Rommie told them.

"Oh dear." Beka bit her lip.

"What?" Dylan asked.

"It's a pleasure drift." Harper said. "Lots of perverts looking for a good time. If his family are there we need to get to Zero before he does something we'll all regret."

"How old are Izus and Joseph?" Dylan asked.

"I don't know about Joseph but Izus is ten." Harper told him.

"Has he reached the drift yet?" Dylan asked.

"He's just docking." Rommie told him.

"Take us in. Full speed." Dylan ordered.

"Gladly." Beka announced.

"How could we have not noticed?" Harper asked them.

"What do you mean?" Beka asked.

"We knew he had family that were still slaves, we knew what they had been through." Harper looked at his feet. "And we were all so caught up in our own lives that we didn't even bother to consider that he wanted to help them. How can he expect that we would help him if we've not even noticed it?"

"With his nightmares you cannot blame us for not seeing his other pain." Rev pointed out. "The Divine..."

"Stuff the Divine, Rev." Harper snapped. "There's something special about Zero and you all know it. If he fails because we didn't try to help him then this is all going to end badly."

XOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOX

**Zanchrift Drift**

Zero plugged in his remote uplink and since he wasn't on _Andromeda_ anymore he had to plug a receiver into the console before he could jack into the Drift's computer core. Getting his way through the external firewalls was easy work compared to _Andromeda's_ core AI but it still took him a good ten minutes to get in without tripping anything. He knew that he had merely half an hour before the _Andromeda_ could dock with the station and that was optimistic but it would take them a long time to find him on the station and he didn't doubt that Harper and Beka had worked out what he was doing so perhaps if they did catch up to him they might let him do it anyway, or they might lock him up for the rest of his life and doom Izus and Joseph. He couldn't take that risk and that was why he'd done all of this in the first place.

He ran a search for Izus and Joseph and found their tag numbers for their implants and their locations on the drift. He placed a small virus to block the remote triggers for the bombs in their implants before locking up the system so that nobody could notice it. Then he placed a final virus that would give the station no end of small problems and slowly scramble their computer system until it was completely irreparable. They'd probably have to completely rip out everything electronic in the place or abandon the drift completely. If it wasn't for the hundreds of slaves on the station he'd simply set it to vent and self destruct.

He pulled out of the system but not before checking the external systems and finding that the _Andromeda_ was on approach. His crew could be searching the drift in less than five minutes and they could easily warn security about his presence though since he hadn't had to intercept any alerts while inside the system it suggested that either they hadn't or the security were spreading word of his presence by mouth knowing that he could anticipate use of the computers to catch him.

He headed down through the crowds towards where he knew Joseph was and ended up inside a women's only spar. He ignored the simple android greeter at the door and walked inside casting a look over the reception area before turning and heading up to the next level ignoring the security guard that was following him at a run and calling out at him. He reached the top of the stairs and turned down another corridor and remembering that this was where the locator in Joseph's implant had lead him he kicked in the door. It flipped open and there was a scream from the inside. Inside was a rather naked woman lying out on a divan. Another woman was manicuring her toe nails while another was massaging her shoulders. Joseph's familiar and much appreciated presence drew his attention to the back of the room where Joseph, who wasn't wearing much more than shorts, was standing with a tray on one hand and a bottle of wine in the other. Waiting on her.

"Who the hell are you?" The woman screeched. "Don't you know who I am?"

"Don't know and don't care." He hissed just as the security guard ran in behind him. He twisted and drew his force lance, extended it and drove the shock end into the man's stomach. The man keeled over onto the floor unconscious and Zero straightened up and shortened the force lance again. "Joseph. Let's go."

"Zero." Joseph gasped, coming out of his shock at seeing his best friend, his family, burst in the door.

"Slave!" The woman shouted at Joseph. "How dare you talk!"

"Shut your trap." Zero snapped and levelled the lance at her. "We've gotta go, Joe."

Joseph dropped the tray on the floor trusting that Zero wouldn't order him out if he didn't have a plan to save them. "You won't make it out of here, Slave."

"His implant's blocked and the drift's communications system died five minutes ago." Zero sneered at her. "Now shut up before I decide to dump you out of an airlock too."

Zero glanced at the other two women but noted that they were employees and not slaves so turned on his heel. Joseph followed him from the room and back into the corridor. Zero turned and shut the door and typed a code into the wall panel. The screen blurred with lines of static as his hidden virus intruded into the system and scrambled the codes. Those three women couldn't leave now and they wouldn't be rescued until Joseph and Izus were safe. He couldn't handle all of the drift's security at once.

"Zero!" Joseph grabbed his arm and spun him towards him and crushed him in a hug. "You're alive. And free! You _are_ free right?"

"I have been since just after he shipped you out. I ran away and now I've come to get you and Izus out." Zero told him as he pulled back.

"You're not going to like where they've put her. I haven't seen her for months." Joseph told him. "And you do realise that they can trigger my implant as soon as they realised you broke me out, right?"

"I scrambled all the systems." Zero told him. "Now listen, we're going to get Izus out but I need to make sure you know where to take her if we get separated. There's a big ship docking at dock one. Take Izus there and put this," He handed him a black security card, "into the slot. It'll contact the ship and open the air lock for you. Once you're in the ship's nano-bots will automatically flood your systems and remove the implants. It's going to feel horrible but you'll be safe once they're gone."

"You have a ship?" Joseph asked.

"I've been working on it for six months." Zero told him.

"And the Captain agreed to this?" Joseph asked.

"Not exactly..." Zero winced.

"Zero. You hijacked it!" Joseph gasped. "They'll kick us out straight away."

"No they won't." Zero told him. "I've put a virus in the AI system. She'll lock the ship down if the Captain tries to kick you off against your will."

"Zero..." Joseph sighed.

"Think of Izus, Joe." Zero caught his face between his hands. "Wouldn't you do everything you could to get her out of trouble?"

"You're right." Joseph nodded. "Let's go get her."

Zero led Joseph down through the drift, knocking out a guard inside the spar. Once they were out in the main causeway it was easy enough to blend in, especially once Zero scrambled the locks around the spar which prevented them from telling anybody about his entrance or exit. As they approached the worst place in this drift Zero couldn't prevent the growl from growing in his throat and he knew that Joseph could hear it. But explaining to his 'brother' that he had a bit of Panther inside him would have to wait until later.

The 'Wild House' as it was called was a large bar with corridors leading off of it that led to rooms for guests and their night's 'entertainment'. Zero slipped through the crowds easily enough and headed across the bar. To any of the other guests he and Joseph probably looked like they fitted in. A visitor and his hired slave. Zero growled deeper and led Joseph into one of the corridors. He made his way to the room where Izus had been before and smashed open the door without knocking only to find it empty. "Fuck." He swore and turned to the computer console and wrenched open the front.

"Calm down, Zero." Joseph put a hand on his arm.

"I need to get her out." Zero told him. "She's been screaming to me for months."

"What are you...?" Joseph started but trailed off when Zero plugged in his remote uplink and his eyes shut. Joseph steadied him for almost a minute before his eyes opened again.

"She's two rooms down." Zero told him. "And the ship's in dock. Nobody has reported us and they're still trying to reboot their communications system. And the ship's AI has intruded into the drifts computers. I didn't expect Dylan to be so violent but she won't be able to restore control to them before we get Izus out."

"Zero." Joseph caught his arm. "You've got to calm down a little. You're acting like an avenging angel. If you run in and get yourself killed it does nobody any good."

"As long as you have that card and get Izus to that ship it doesn't matter what happens to me." Zero told him.

"It matters to us." Joseph snapped. "You might think you're less than some people because you don't have a past but your past doesn't matter to us. We only care about the present and I don't want a present without you alive."

"Let's just go get her." Zero told him and dragged him from the room. The door between them and Izus was already unlocked from when Zero was uplinked so they opened it without warning and froze as they saw what was inside. Two Nightsiders and Izus. Zero growled and leapt forwards even as Izus was pinned to the bed with a furred hand around her throat. Zero didn't want to think about what had been happening to his little sister but right now only these two mattered to him. He pulled both force lances out and with a flick they both opened out. He struck the Nightsider pinning Izus down across the head sending him flying. Before spinning the other to face the second. He fired before anybody could move and the smart bullet struck the Nightsider in the chest and sent him flying back into the wall. The other was stumbling to his feet and Zero spun and sent the end of both lances into his chest throwing him back as electrical charge compounded the crushing of his ribs.

He turned to the bed and the cowering Izus and his strength crumbled. He closed the force lances and pocketed them and crouched on the floor beside the bed. "Izus?"

She flinched but looked at him in shock all the same. "Izus." Joseph whispered and picked her up off the bed. "Zero came to save us."

Izus seemed to collapse internally and she clung to Joseph. Joseph kissed her hair. "We need to go." Zero announced. "By the sounds of it they heard that in the bar."

Izus looked up at him and a grin split across her face. She dived off of Joseph and wrapped her arms around Zero's waist. Joseph grabbed a gown from the wall and draped it around Izus' shoulders and when she pulled away from Zero she tied it up. Just as Zero was about to speak again two men appeared in the door. "What in the hell is going on in here?" They demanded. Zero turned and in three moves they were both unconscious on the floor. He could hear running footsteps.

Zero led the two into the corridor and pushed them down away from the bar. "Follow this around to the left, go down the stairs and out into the main concourse. Head for dock one. You know what to do."

"You're coming too." Joseph ordered.

"I've got to buy you some time. As soon as you're clear I'll follow." Zero told them. "Now go!"

Joseph swore but he had Izus to think about. He grabbed her hand and ran down the corridor. He glanced back over his shoulder and just as he did a shot hit the wall across from Zero. Zero turned back down the corridor and levelled both his force lances to buy them the needed time.

XOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOX

**A few minutes later**

Dylan and Harper were heading down to the airlock when an alarm rang locally. "Andromeda?" Dylan asked. "Is that Rommie, Beka and Tyr?"

"Negative." She announced. "Opening access."

"What?" Dylan gasped. "Nobody else should be able to get in."

"Unless it's another of Zero's virus'." Harper told him giving up on hoping to be free of those any time soon. The airlock doors pulled back into the wall and Harper and Dylan both aimed their weapons at the intruders only to find themselves looking at a nearly naked man with short brown hair and a too skinny look and a small girl in a light cotton gown and a terrified look on her face. The doors shut behind them before Dylan could order them out.

"Activating medical nano-bots. Alerting med deck." Andromeda announced just as the hologram appeared.

"I can't control it. They used a card in the reader on the outside and a virus activated. I still have complete control but I can't stop the nano-bots." She told them.

Before anything could be said the man flinched and brought a hand up to his throat just as the girl cried out in panic and grabbed at her throat. The man spun and crouched down. "Izus! It's okay! He said this would happen." His voice gave out as whatever the nano-bots were doing inhibited his voice.

Harper crouched down with her. "You're Izus?" He asked before looking at the man. "And Joseph?" Joseph nodded and tried to speak. Izus was hyperventilating so Harper grabbed her hands and brought them down again, just like he had with Zero. "It's okay. They're medical nano-bots. They're removing the implants. Zero must have instructed them to do it as soon as you stepped on board."

"Andromeda, notify Trance that we're bring two guests up to med deck." Dylan sighed. "Harper you grab her. Joseph? Let me help you."

Joseph struggled away from Dylan and forced himself to speak. "The Wild House. Zero. You have to help him."

Dylan sighed before tugging at the man. As much as he was annoyed with Zero he could understand why he had done what he had done and he couldn't leave him to die or whatever was happening. "Andromeda, contact Rommie, tell her to head for the Wild House. Whatever that is. They're to save Zero and bring him back here."

"And what should I tell them to do with him once they return him?" Her hologram appeared.

"Lock him in his room and remove all access to your computer network." Dylan ordered.

Thirty minutes later saw them all in med deck. Joseph was sitting on one of the benches with Izus under his arm. They hadn't said much since they'd come on board. Izus had been utterly silent but Joseph had answered Trance's questions politely.

"Do you know where you are?" Dylan asked.

"Onboard the ship that Zero has been working on for the last six months." Joseph shrugged. "He didn't give details, just told me to get Izus off the drift."

"Did he tell you how we came to be here?" Dylan asked harshly.

"Not in so many words but I can imagine." Joseph shook his head. "For that I am sorry, Captain Hunt. Zero has a strange mindset, he always has. If there is a task he believes is compulsory he will use the most effective method to achieve it regardless of whether he has to force other people to comply or not. It's just the way he is and you can't really blame him. Can you imagine being in his position? Waking up with a face full of burning sand with serious injuries without a single memory of his past and then being thrown in a cage?"

"Be that as it may..." Dylan trailed off as Beka and Rommie walked in the door.

"He's in his room and the door's sealed." Beka reported. "Tyr's standing guard just in case. We thought that better than Rommie or he could just override her."

"Well, Dylan. They're both in okay health. I mean apart from the obvious signs of abuse, neglect and starvation." Trance reported.

"Beka, why don't you take Izus down for something to eat and find her a room?" Dylan offered but at the mere mention of splitting them apart Izus clung to Joseph.

"I want to see Zero." She declared.

"She won't do anything else but either stay with me or see Zero." Joseph told the room.

"Well, seeing Zero is out of the question right now." Dylan told them.

"Did you at least tell him we're alive?" Joseph challenged.

"Don't make demands on my ship." Dylan told him sternly.

"We told him you arrived." Rommie told Joseph before turning to Dylan. "He didn't really say much after that. Just came back with us and went into his room. He even gave up four extra virus chips. He gave me a code to unlock the last virus' but I haven't used it yet in case."

"Try it." Dylan told her.

"Accessing." Rommie told him and then looked up. "Sixteen other virus' answered to the access code, they remain dormant and I can delete them without trouble."

"How can we tell if that is all of them?" Dylan asked.

"As far as I can tell that is it, but I've been wrong four times now." Rommie grumbled.

"Do you know?" Dylan turned to Joseph who shook his head. "I hope for your sake you're not lying to me."

"If I do it's for the same reason as Zero. I'd do anything to protect Izus just as he did." Joseph told him.

"Fine." Dylan sighed. "Trance, take them to a room and get them something to eat."

"What about seeing Zero?" Joseph asked.

"I'm afraid that will have to wait until we decide what to do with him." Dylan told him. "For now though you're our guests but I'll have to ask that you remain in your room. The door won't be locked but Andromeda can monitor the corridors at any time. You won't be able to leave without her knowing."

"Thank you for your hospitality, Captain." Joseph stood up and lifted Izus into his arms, taking her weight quite easily for a man as thin as he was. Clearly she was just as light as he looked. "I know our introduction wasn't ideal but if you've been caring for Zero since he escaped then you have my undying and unconditional gratitude. I only ask that you give him some mercy. I know you wouldn't have done exactly the same thing if it was you who had loved ones to rescue but if you put yourself in his life than perhaps you'll understand better what he has done. There's no evil in Zero, only good intentions even if those intentions step on your toes a little. I know him enough to know that he didn't want to betray your trust in him but he'd do a lot more than just lose your trust to rescue those he loves."

Dylan nodded at him and watched as the man left with Trance and the small ex-slave girl. "Dylan?" Beka asked him after a moments silence where Rommie just watched them.

"We can't really blame him can we?" Dylan sighed.

"Not really, no." Beka leaned back and rubbed her face. "And Harper was right earlier. We all knew about his horrible past and that he had loved ones trapped somewhere but because he bottled it up inside and didn't talk to us about helping him we just ignored it. He's done nothing short of a miracle with us these past six months and all we've done for him is give him a place to do his own projects. We betrayed him by ignoring his pain even though we knew it was there. You could blame anybody else in this crew for what he did but you couldn't blame Zero for it."

"That's exactly it." Dylan sighed. "I think with all of this and his nightmares we're slowly losing him. If we can't find him answers to his life soon it might be too late for him to ever truly be alive."

XOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOX

Zero sat up as his door opened and Rommie walked inside along with Tyr. Zero stood up but didn't speak even as the door shut behind them. He sighed and sat back on the bed, he'd been so hoping that he could see Harper. Now that he'd betrayed him he wanted to see him, to apologise, and to know he was still wanted on the crew even if he wasn't. He also needed to hear that Izus and Joseph were okay but since finding out they'd reached the _Andromeda _they hadn't said much to him since bailing him out of the battle in the bar. They'd put him away in his room and left him for almost two hours.

"Is there any more virus' in my system?" Rommie asked.

"You mean other than the ones you watched me place? The defensive ones?" Zero asked and received a nod. Zero bit his lip, knowing that he couldn't lie with Rommie so close, she could monitor his heart beat in a second. Zero offered his hand knowing that she could get a better reading touching his skin. She grabbed his hand and looked into his eyes. "Yes."

Rommie showed no shock but Tyr tensed slightly in surprise. "You have got to be kidding me!" Tyr scoffed.

"You can be disappointed in me all you like, Tyr, but she would be able to tell if I lied." Zero shrugged. "Then again I could have placed another virus in her system to stop her being able to detect a lie from me."

"So why admit it?" Rommie asked logically.

"It's a virus that will lock down the ship if Dylan or any of the others try to return Izus and Joseph to the drift." Zero told them simply. "You can see it if you look in your auxiliary archives but if you try to touch it, it will activate."

"Searching..." Rommie frowned. "I've found it. He's right, I can't touch it."

"I'll remove it only after I have Dylan's word that he won't do anything to harm Joseph or Izus." Zero told them both simply. "Once I have that, I'll give you the deactivation code and it will self delete and then I'll accept any punishment you give to me."

"Even if it's to put you back into Slavery." Tyr sneered.

Zero flinched and shut his eyes for a moment before opening them to look at Rommie and Tyr. "Even that's a small price to pay to save them."

XOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOX

It had to be the next day before Dylan walked into Zero's room with Izus and Joseph beside him. Zero leapt up and crouched down for Izus to cling to him desperately. Zero couldn't stop himself from crying but didn't shield his face from Joseph and Dylan. He stood up and brought Izus up into his arms and accepted the hug from Joseph and kissed him on the cheek before finally looking at Dylan.

"I won't apologise for doing what I did to save them." Zero told Dylan. "But you can't imagine how sorry I am for the betrayal. I didn't want to do it this way but I had to be certain it would work. I couldn't take the ninety percent chance that you'd agree to help me."

"I understand that, Zero." Dylan sighed. "And for what it's worth you have my forgiveness. You will have to gain the others forgiveness one at a time and it might be a while before we all trust you again like we did. Especially Andromeda."

Zero winced but nodded. "What about Joseph and Izus?"

"You have my word. They'll be safe onboard until they wish to leave." Dylan promised him and Zero knew that he could trust the man's word.

He nodded. "Andromeda, access code two-one-five-eight-delta-echo."

"_Access code accepted. Virus cleared."_ Andromeda announced as she appeared as a hologram.

"That's all of them, Dylan." Zero promised him. "I know I've said that before but I've got what I needed."

"I'll leave you alone." Dylan told him. "Welcome back to the crew, Zero."

XOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOX

**Harper's lab**

Zero knocked on the edge of the open door but didn't walk in until Harper looked up from his work and looked back down again. Zero sighed and entered, heading for where his friend was. He sat on one of the metal stools and perched his feet on a rung. Harper, standing only two feet from him, continued to work and Zero let him without comment knowing that he couldn't rush this. After Harper finished bending the piece of metal he reached over for another one but Zero snaked out a hand and grabbed Harper's wrist.

"Do you think we ever met on Earth?" Zero asked. Harper glanced at him and shrugged. Zero continued when Harper didn't vocalise anything. "I suppose if we did I wouldn't remember anyway."

Harper still didn't try to speak but he stayed still. Zero let go of his wrist and Harper leant his hands on the work bench. "You don't hate me do you?" Zero asked, knowing that some of his insecurity had bled into his voice. Harper shook his head but still didn't seem to want to speak. "Good," Zero continued. "Because I think I could cope with any of the others hating me but you..."

"Me what?" Harper turned to face him. "If I hated you then what?"

"I..." Zero looked down. "I just wouldn't be able to take it, okay?"

"Why not?" Harper asked.

"Do I have to have a particular reason?" Zero pleaded.

"This time you do." Harper told him simply.

"Because you make me feel safe. Alright?" Zero half snapped. "And I'm going slowly insane and I can't bear the thought of losing the only person that makes me feel safe here."

"I can't be the only one." Harper rolled his eyes.

"You're the only one that I've felt perfectly safe around since I woke up after the crash." Zero told him. "Calamy and Joseph were the right people in the wrong place but ever since I met you I've felt safe with you. Call me crazy but that's just the way I think."

"You're right, you are going insane." Harper smirked at him and Zero relaxed ever so slightly.

"I'm really sorry for lying to you, Shay." Zero sighed.

"But you had to do what you had to do." Harper nodded. "I get it, hell if I was in your shoes I might have done the same thing."

Without realising that Harper had moved he'd placed his hand on the side of Zero's face. Zero tensed up and Harper froze as he realised how intimate he'd been without thinking about it. Zero reached up and took his hand in his own and when Harper pulled back Zero looked down. He heard Harper sigh before his head was against Harper's chest as Harper pulled him into a hug. Zero wrapped his arms around his friend and buried his face in his chest, relying on Harper's strength to protect him. Reversing the way that Zero had held Harper after they'd gone back in time and Harper had broken apart at being responsible for so many deaths.

"I'll protect you if you protect me." Harper whispered to him and pressed a kiss to Zero's head.

XOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOX

End Chapter


	7. Forgetting

Sacrifice

Chapter 7; Forgetting

_**Andromeda Ascendant**_

Zero stared at the list of stuff on the flexipad that Harper had dropped onto the top of his console while he was working in his lab. The sort of list that meant that neither engineer would be getting much rest. "This is what needs fixing?" Zero asked in surprise. The list was huge.

"That includes everything that needs to be calibrated and serviced too." Harper sighed and dropped his head down on his arms on the top of the console.

"There has to be at least five hundred jobs on here and they're all vital ones." Zero frowned as he scrolled through them. "Even with my help it's going to take months to do all these."

"And that's going to take you from the tasks you've got set up." Harper sighed and Zero leaned to the edge and picked up a flexi of his own and handed it to Harper. On it were a hundred and fifty jobs that needed doing with either the computers or electrics which Zero had taken off of Harper's hands.

"Some of those can only be done with a couple of people but most are single person jobs."

"Most of mine will need a couple of people. Mostly just for an extra pair of hands but some will need real expertise." Harper sighed.

"Mine are already singled out with the jobs I'm going to need your help with. Some of the others I'll ask Joe to help me with." Zero told him. It had been a week since he'd rescued Joseph and Izus and they'd been settling in. Izus couldn't help but be scared of Rev and they were both extremely anxious around Tyr who had smirked at Zero about it until he realised just how scared Izus was around him and had from then on made an effort to either avoid her or be nice around her. That had shocked Zero to his core but he'd already known that Tyr had a generous side when he really had to show it. Joseph had told Dylan that he'd like to be able to stay with Zero for the time being but knew that eventually he'd have to take Izus away so she could grow up in a stable place but Zero and Joseph were at a loss as to where to go.

Zero had mostly kept to himself for the last week and his only real visitors had been Joseph, Izus and Harper with a couple of visits from Beka and Rev. He hadn't touched Andromeda's system in that time and kept himself to working on his isolated computers and with Cyrus who had been delighted to have Zero back after the few days he'd been away without a visit.

"I've done the same with my list and the vast majority will need an extra pair of hands. I think if we can get Joseph's help then he can jump between us. Get those jobs done and out of the way and then work together on the real hard ones." Harper nodded.

"Don't you just love our life." Zero sighed as he stood up.

"Better this..." Harper started before wincing.

"Then your life on Earth and mine as a slave." Zero finished with a nod as he walked around his console. "I suppose I'd better go run these jobs by Dylan, tell him what we're going to be shutting down and ask to borrow people at our leisure."

"And tell him not to go jumping into slipstream without warning us." Harper reminded.

"Or get shot at." Zero added helpfully.

"Are you alright going up to talk to him?" Harper frowned. "I know you've been..."

"Hiding like a coward?" Zero asked.

"I wouldn't say a coward." Harper grabbed his arm to reassure him. "Just worried that they're going to kick you off the ship."

"Thanks for that, Shay." Zero frowned and Harper surprised him by hugging him quickly. Zero tensed up before relaxing.

"They won't do that." Harper told them. "You're as much a member of this crew as any of the rest of us. All they're worried about is whether you're going to get off with Joseph and Izus."

Zero didn't answer that right away and Harper stared at him before sighing. "I just don't know yet, Shay."

"I know." Harper sighed. "For what's it's worth I _really_ don't want you to go."

Zero smiled at him gratefully and walked out into the corridor. Ten minutes later Zero walked out onto the command deck and a surprised Dylan turned to look at him as well as an emotionless Rommie. Zero gritted his teeth but continued walking knowing that he'd have to face her eventually.

"Zero." Rommie greeted blandly and Zero couldn't hide the wince at the abruptness of her anger at him. She seemed to see the pain he hid though and her features softened slightly but still didn't give anything away to Zero.

"Hi, Rommie." Zero muttered looking down at his feet.

Dylan seemed to take pity on him though. "Did you need something, Zero?"

"Yeah." Zero looked up at him. "I need to run a list of repairs by you for myself and Harper." Dylan nodded. "There's at least six hundred items on that list. All of the services, calibrations and repairs that we need to do that are all a matter of precedence for the ship." Dylan winced this time and Zero handed him the two flexipads. "Those are just the things we can actually do with the resources we have and the man power but some of those are going to need me and Harper working on them, others can be done on our own but most will need either Joseph, Tyr or one of the others to lend a hand."

"What about Andromeda's robots?" Dylan asked.

"I'd have to upgrade their dexterity software and Harper would have to upgrade their motor systems first." Zero frowned. "That would take too long. If the others can't help then I suppose that's what we'll have to do."

"I'm sure they'll help." Dylan nodded. "I'll talk to Beka, Trance, Rev and Tyr about lending you two a hand when they're not busy and get them to come talk to you about it."

Zero nodded and turned to go but Dylan sighed and reached out and put a hand on his shoulder. "How have you been sleeping?"

"Better." Zero shrugged. "He still have nightly nightmares but they haven't been so bad this last week. I think they're easing off since I'm not worried about Joe and Izus anymore."

"Anything bad?" Dylan asked.

Zero just shook his head. "Unless anything in my nightmares is a premonition but I think those are just memories from my old life."

"That's good." Dylan smiled for him and Zero winced.

"Not really. They're horrible. Massacres, explosions and war." Zero shrugged.

"We were trying to search for historical fact from scenes in his nightmares but the only links we found were to pre Commonwealth Earth." Rommie spoke up and Zero glanced at her before looking down again. The reminder of times when Andromeda trusted him was painful to him.

"What about the jobs inside Andromeda's mainframe?" Dylan suddenly asked.

"Harper says he'll do them." Zero sighed. "I'll be able to do a few of his jobs for him so it'll work out."

"Except it would take Zero a fraction of the time to complete the jobs than anyone else." Rommie told her Captain. "I've never had a tech so good."

"Are you alright letting Zero back in again?" Dylan asked and Zero flinched.

"If he'd asked five days ago I would have said yes." Rommie said simply and Zero's head snapped up to look at her in shock and he swallowed.

"I didn't think you'd ever let me back in again." Zero frowned. "I was going to get off..."

"With Joseph and Izus?" Dylan finished for him when he trailed off.

"There'd be no point in me taking up space on here if I wasn't useful." Zero shrugged.

"Well I'm happy for you to enter my virtual matrix." The holo-Andromeda appeared beside her ship-made-flesh as she spoke and the core appeared on the screen with a nod.

"It may not have been pleasant to be forced against our will." The core told them all. "However we understand the logic behind your decisions, perhaps more than a human would. We understand what you did."

"And it wasn't personal so we won't hold a grudge." Rommie told him and Zero looked back at his feet. "Zero, you understand? We don't blame you but we will if you don't get your arse back into my mainframe and start fixing it again."

Zero snapped his head up to look at her and risked a small smile. The three nodded to him before the hologram and core disappeared. "I'll do all of the internal work first but they'll be more to do once I've fixed some of the equipment especially in the weapons base stations. Those need some serious work. Especially the one that I bypassed months ago." Rommie made a mock pained face as if it were kinks in her system which he supposed it was.

"Get going then Zero." Dylan told him. "You've got a lot of work to do."

XOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOX

**Three days later**

Zero smiled at Cyrus before jacking out of his virtual net which was changing on a daily basis at the moment. Cyrus was growing in his way of thinking about himself and every time Zero went in Cyrus had changed ever so slightly. Cyrus had realised that he thought so much faster than a human and had worked out that in those terms he was already the equivalent of a forty year old man and although Zero found it funny Cyrus at least realised that he couldn't put on that age and keep going at that speed so he'd grown himself into a mid teenager but his appearance changed quite rapidly. He always stuck with blond hair but it changed style almost every time Zero appeared and because he'd learnt that humans used facial recognition to know people he kept the same facial appearance as well.

Zero was proud of how fast Cyrus was evolving and wasn't worried that Cyrus would become a problem. Zero didn't encourage any of the attachment that Cyrus had built up with Zero but he was always happy with it. Cyrus did feel like his own son after all. He returned to the normal world in order to make his appointment with Harper since he'd agreed the time to go to the mess of cables that was Zero's bypass so that they could rebuild it and then work out the software kinks in the system.

XOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOX

**That night**

_Two men with gills were standing in the darkness surrounded by towering missiles and between them was a pedestal with a button on the top. One nodded to the other who pressed the button and the missiles burst into balls of light and flew up into the darkness above them before they converged and exploded in a bright light that burned at his eyes. Screams slammed into him and he dropped to his knees and shut his eyes against the sensation of being crushed by a hundred thousand lives._

_He opened his eyes to find himself kneeling in a bright white space surrounded only in fluttering red clothes that hung in the air and randomly whipped out at him. He struggled to his feet but found himself not in the white space but in a small metal cage just like he'd woken up in for the second time in his known life. Then the cage was gone and Zero was standing in an asteroid field and his ears were in pain as a disembodied voice echoed through him, settling into seemingly every part of his body. Screaming about tears, trying to cry. He could barely understand what it was._

_A space station hung in the vastness of space and Zero was surrounded by a sea of Nietzscheans and their slaves chained at their feet. White lights shot through the air above them and struck the space station destroying it in a bright light that swept over them all and incinerated them._

_Flames erupted around him and instead of Nietzscheans there was a monster of a man with drawn back skin and dark red eyes. Flames licked over every inch of his body before bursting out in the same way as the bright light had and struck Zero._

Zero gasped as he shot up in his bed and got control over himself before looking around his quarters. They were empty so he probably hadn't been screaming or Andromeda would have tried to wake him. He didn't know whether that was a good thing or not since he was obviously getting used to them if they weren't horrifying him enough to scream in his sleep.

He took a shower, dressed and headed for his lab to get an early start on the day but as he opened his door he found himself looking at the holographic image of the ship's core. Perhaps it hadn't gone completely unnoticed then. "Perhaps you should try to get some more sleep?" She asked.

"How much did I get?" Zero asked back.

"You got two hours of regular REM sleep before your heart rate increased and you became disturbed." She told him.

"I don't think I can get to sleep." Zero shook his head before walking out into the corridor and turning towards his lab. The hologram skipped ahead of him appearing in the next junction. He knew that she could hear him wherever he was though. "Can you run a few searches for me?"

"Anything in particular or against previous searches?" She asked. They had a major search running that cross references any of the searches that Zero had run.

"One separate search and a couple of references to aid to our running one." Zero told her. "Can you search for a humanoid race with gills around the neck and cross that with the mass killing of Nietzschean, not soldiers but entire groups and see if that has anything to do with a space station."

"Past or future?" She clarified.

"I don't know." He shrugged. "I think it's something in the past but it's like the one I had of the supernova and all of the Magog being killed so I think it's about the past but is going to effect the future. It's just a feeling." Zero defended as she popped in front of him as he walked with a raised eyebrow.

"And what of the references?" She asked.

"Firstly red clothes in a white room." Zero sighed. "And secondly an asteroid field."

"The number of asteroid fields in the known galaxies are almost beyond counting." She warned him.

"I don't expect results." Zero sighed in defeat.

"I will run the cross reference." She promised.

"Also create an image for me and store it." He paused and stopped moving. "A human man with stretched white skin, no hair and sunken solid red eyes."

She actually frowned at him. "Is this in reference to something?" She asked as the image appeared on the screen against the wall. Zero would make a few small changes to it.

"I think it's something from my past." Zero said quietly.

"Do you wish me to run a scan for races with these distinct traits?" She asked and Zero nodded. "What are you going to do?" She asked when Zero started walking again.

"Get a start on my work." Zero told her. "I'll be in my consoles for a while." She, along with Harper, were under the impression that Cyrus' system was merely a place for Zero to work on complex programs from a virtual matrix rather than a highly limiting screen. In truth Cyrus was beginning to help him write programs even while Zero taught him all about computers.

XOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOX

"Are you alright, Dad?" Cyrus asked as soon as he appeared.

"What do you mean?" Zero asked.

"I can sense that you are tired and upset." Cyrus told him.

"How?" Zero pressed. Cyrus shouldn't have any access to the outside world.

"Don't worry, Dad." Cyrus grinned. "I haven't found a way out yet. I've been comparing your brain patterns to what you tell me you feel."

Zero smiled slightly. "So you've been sneaking around behind me have you?"

"I'm bored." Cyrus told him. "I ran out of new material so I went back over my sensor reports to try to understand your feelings."

"Why are you wondering about my feelings?" Zero asked.

"I'm worried about you." Cyrus told him. "I don't know what is happening to you out there."

Zero sighed and sat down and Cyrus jumped forwards and sat down on the ground opposite him. "I wish I could bring you out into the open right now, Cyrus, but I don't think you're ready yet. I don't want anything to happen to you. When I do bring you into the open you'll be even stronger than Andromeda I think and you'll be safe."

"I can wait." Cyrus told him. "But I think that you're feeling more and more that you want me to be known."

"Yeah." Zero smiled again. "I look forward to that day."

Zero concentrated for a moment and activated the newest set of hardware that he'd spent the last two hours installing into Cyrus' mainframe. It opened up a whole new world to Cyrus who grinned and launched himself at Zero and hugged him. Zero couldn't feel it but it was the motion that counted. Zero had just given Cyrus the space he needed to expand his being and the space he needed to work on developing himself. Zero helped him for another hour before leaving Cyrus to himself and returning to the real world to get a start on the work he needed to do that day.

XOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOX

Zero was lying on his back with his head underneath the tactical console with an array of diagnosis tools attached to the insides of the system that relayed all of the information from the local weapons controls. The control decks way to control the weapons. He was finding out everything that he needed to sort out to get all of the systems between the control deck and the actual launch systems talking to each other perfectly.

He heard the door opening but didn't look up until he noticed that he couldn't really hear much in the way of footsteps. Trance automatically seemed to walk without sound and Tyr and Dylan could walk silently if they tried. Out of the others he didn't think Beka or Harper could do it even if they tried and Rev made a small clicking sound as he moved around on his bare feet. He didn't think Tyr or Dylan would bother and Trance had yet been able to walk into a room without a bright and happy greeting so that left somebody more like Zero. He lifted his head and looked down his body at Joseph.

It wasn't anything either of them could help, they were just so used to sneaking around as slaves where being silent kept them out of view and less likely for random acts of hatred. It became instinct to be silent on their feet.

"Are you working with Harper today?" Zero asked knowing that Joseph would be shy about starting a conversation.

Joseph didn't reply until he'd closed the gap and sat next to Zero. Zero went back to work as Joseph started talking quietly. "Yeah. On the Slipstream drive. I think he's trying to teach me everything about engines."

"I think he probably wants you to have some knowledge to get about in the world." Zero told him.

"I told him he doesn't have to." Joseph half complained.

"He won't accept you trying to say no." Zero smiled up at him. "It took some getting used to."

"I can imagine." Joseph touched his stomach gently. "At least I remember my family and living like this. It'll take some getting used to but I least I know what it's like."

"And I didn't." Zero nodded. They didn't say anything until Zero shocked himself and swore making a small version of Andromeda's hologram appear next to his head and look up at the singed circuit.

"Did you want that isolated then?" She asked sarcastically.

"That would be nice." Zero told her as he sucked on his thumb. "It's not my fault Dylan doesn't want the weapons systems offline."

"As a matter of fact I don't either." She told him.

Zero turned back to a staring Joseph with a small smile. "Do you like working with engines?"

Joseph was quiet for a time but then nodded. "I like them. They..."

"They're peaceful." Zero finished for him and Joseph nodded. "They don't have feelings and they don't betray you."

"Which is why you've always loved computers." Joseph nodded. "Even if Andromeda has a personality she wouldn't purposely try to hurt you like everyone else in your life has."

"You never did." Zero reached down and squeezed Joseph's hand gently before letting go as the door opened and Dylan and Beka entered. "Nor did Calamy. If it wasn't for the two of you I'd probably have killed myself." Joseph knew better than to argue that but didn't say anything at all as the two Captains approached.

"Andromeda tells me you've been working since three o'clock." Dylan told him. "Are you trying for overtime?"

"You don't pay me remember?" Zero asked as he put in the last wire, clicked the bottom of the console back into place and wiggled free. "Power up the console again please, Andromeda."

The console lit up and Zero glanced at it with a satisfied nod, it was happy to accept any information from any of the seventy relay stations that fed it but it was only getting information from sixty-three and out of those sixty-three eight were reporting lack of communication from their weapons sections and he knew that out of the seven relays that weren't reporting two couldn't speak to their weapons sections either. That meant he had seven relay stations to sort out and ten weapons control stations to fault find with.

"There's my helping hand for the day." Zero grinned at Beka.

"You're enjoying this aren't you?" Beka asked.

"It won't hurt you to learn about the weapons systems." Dylan told her even as Zero nodded. "Just be grateful that _Andromeda's_ robots are taking the supplies to each of the places."

"I'd better be going." Joseph told Zero quietly looking down and towards Zero slightly, completely away from the other two who frowned, obviously remembering Zero's old habits which still came out on occasion, especially with people he didn't know or when they were all together.

Zero took his arm and leaned in. "I'll find Izus and meet you and Harper for lunch." He said at the same volume knowing that Joseph was worried about any loud conversation around the closest thing he had to a master right now.

Zero glanced at Dylan and Beka before smiling as Dylan turned away and Beka led the way out. They took Joseph down to Harper's lab before going off on their own for the job that would undoubtedly take the entire week to do. Luckily they'd get a full fifteen of the jobs done from Zero's list and another eight done from Harper's while they were at it.

XOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOX

**A month later**

Time past on the ship quite peacefully for Zero for the next few weeks. He had dreams about events and watched them play out but in all of his dreams played out with endings that he could live with so he only helped when necessary knowing that he couldn't change events and something told him that if he tried to act he would only make things worse. Dylan and Rommie had been arrested on a diplomatic mission to an ex-commonwealth planet only to stage a prison breakout not too long later. A few days after that on another diplomatic mission they'd been accused of assassinating the President only to bring to light the fact that he'd been killed by the vice-president before he could announce past horrors that Zero had been vital to in Dylan's discovery. Zero had known who the two water-breathers had been as soon as he'd seen them and found out that they'd launched a missile strike on a Nietzschean space station killing tens of thousands of people including the slaves from their own society.

Not too long after that Trance and Beka had gone on a mission to help Beka's father's friend only to be betrayed and if it wasn't for Zero's virus' on the _Eureka Maru_ they'd probably be rather too close to a star for their liking. All through this Harper and Zero had been doing their work on the ship with the help of whoever was handy and Joseph was coming on in leaps and bounds when it came to working with engines. He was really enjoying it and Zero knew that soon they'd find a place for Joseph and Izus to leave but at least Joseph would have a way to support them.

What was really depressing was that Joseph hadn't yet decided what to do but Zero had seen what would happen and agreed with it. It was the only way to ensure Izus' safety. Zero had to stay on the _Andromeda_ and Izus just wouldn't be safe there and even though they needed all the engineers they could lay their hands on Joseph needed to look after Izus and they couldn't do that onboard the High Guard Ship.

And finally just last week Beka had given Dylan coordinates to one of the possibilities that they had been looking into with Gerentec and they'd ended up finding a sister ship to _Andromeda Ascendent_ which had quickly turned out to be insane and had tried to kill them. Zero had spent the entire time working with Rommie, trying to find a way to get through the craziness of the other ship's mind. In the end she'd forced Dylan to fire on her and then deactivated her own defences and been destroyed.

But Zero's mind wasn't on all of that just at the moment. He'd witnessed something worrying and no matter how much he'd tried to ignore it he just couldn't. Tyr needed help and if Zero didn't act he'd be killed. Tyr might be a Nietzschean but he had never tried to hurt Zero and since Izus in particular had joined the ship he'd been nothing but compassionate when it came to her feelings around him.

As he walked onto the control deck to find Dylan he called to Andromeda. "Are you able to jump to Slipstream yet?"

"Harper still has my engine in pieces." She made a face. "Fourteen hours minimum."

"What's the matter, Zero?" Dylan asked.

"I need to go after Tyr." Zero told him. "He's in trouble."

"Trouble?" Beka laughed from nearby. "I think he can handle trouble."

"What did you see?" Dylan asked after studying Zero's serious face.

"He crashed the _Maru_." Zero said bluntly and moved to the sensor console though not for the sensors. He ignored Beka's angry gasp. "Andromeda pull up a map of Drago-Kazov space." It appeared instantly.

"What the hell is he doing with my ship!?" Beka growled.

"Do you know?" Dylan asked him but Zero shook his head.

"I only know what I see." Zero told him. "Andromeda, highlight the slave planets at least eight hours from known Drago-Kazov bases." Four were ringed in white. "Ones with forests and lakes and where the humans are generally left alone." One vanished but the other three remained.

"Zero?" Dylan asked.

"I don't know which one of those three it is." Zero told him. "I saw him crash and I saw him fight Nietzscheans from Drago-Kazov."

"Eight hours?" Beka asked.

"A lucky break." Zero told her. "I heard a kid say they found him eight hours ago and that was before I saw him fighting with the Nietzscheans."

"Was it that clear?" Dylan was surprised. Normally Zero's dreams were rather sketchy and didn't make all that much sense until after the event had happened.

"They normally are when it's one of you guys." Zero shrugged. "Can I take a Slip Fighter?"

"You want to go help him?" Beka asked.

Zero didn't answer that. He just felt as if he should go and help. He knew how slaves worked and Tyr had seemed in need of his help. He stared at Dylan who nodded. "As soon as the Slipstream drive is repaired we'll follow you to these three planets."

"You'll arrive just in time to save the day." Zero chuckled and saw Dylan's eyebrows shoot up. "Andromeda? Can you transfer this navigational data to my Slip Fighter and prep it for immediate launch?"

"Andromeda, power up the in-system drive, get us as close to the Portal as you can while Zero get's ready to leave." Dylan spoke up helpfully.

"Beka, can you tell Joseph and Izus where I'm going and let them know I'll be back soon?" Zero asked.

"Of course. Just go get my ship back." She smirked at him. Zero nodded and jogged out of the room to get into clothing more suitable for fighting Nietzscheans.

XOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOX

It took Zero two Slipstreams and four hours of flying for him to get through the moving Drago-Kazov fleet without being noticed. He knew that so many ships would slow down the _Andromeda's_ arrival but that wasn't something that could be helped. The planet that Zero stopped at first was the one most likely to be where Tyr had crashed since it was between the Drago-Kazov home world and his most logical escape route and it wasn't long before Zero had the proof he needed. As he entered the atmosphere of Midden the Slipfighter's sensors picked up a faint signal from the _Eureka Maru_ and he headed for it.

The ship was definitely crashed and was half sitting in the shallow water of the edge of a large lake and half in the trees on the bank. Knowing that his approach hadn't been detected he settled the Slipfighter down in the water in the centre of the lake and let it float on its own buoyancy as he popped the canopy. There were no signs of any Nietzscheans or anybody else for that matter as he got out onto the top of the floating ship and after making sure he had everything he jumped into the water. He turned in the water and used a remote to close the canopy and to set off the bucky cables he'd already programmed. They shot out of the bottom of the ship and attached to the lake floor and then pulled the Slipfighter down under the water so it wouldn't be found.

The _Maru_ wasn't locked when he got to the main door and he crept inside with his Force Lance at the ready and headed straight for the bridge. The entire ship looked empty to him and while rather beaten up it seemed to be in good enough shape. He could probably fly it out if he needed to, perhaps with a couple of hours of work to be on the safe side. What surprised him though was the time and reason of the crash. According to what he could access the ship had crashed only five hours ago so he'd seen the crash a good eight hours before anything had happened. The reason was a little peculiar though, the ship's mainframe was swarming with nano-bots designed to scramble all information. Zero knew that his own defences would have delayed it so obviously Tyr had been able to destroy or lose his attackers before the nano-bots had screwed up everything electrical on the ship and it had taken a nosedive into the planet. Zero headed back to the computer core and knowing better than to go inside with the nano-bots present he initiated a full computer reboot and activated a number of his viruses which would remove the small robots from the ship.

He found something else interesting on the way out of the ship. A large container standing up on its end with a rather complex three stage security lock on it that Zero knew better than to touch. Clearly Tyr had been doing a little thievery from the Drago-Kazov home world and they hadn't wanted to let him get away with whatever this thing was. But that didn't help him find Tyr though so he headed outside and glanced up at the sun and guessed that he had possibly two hours before night began to fall. It took him ten minutes to find all of the tracks to and from the ship and work out the timings of them. A woman had arrived not too long after the ship had crashed, probably after seeing the ship go down and had come to help since she'd left with Tyr, who he could track knowing what type of boots he tended to wear. Tyr had been tired or wounded and she'd clearly half helped him and they'd moved slowly.

Then more recently, perhaps within the last hour or two the same woman and Tyr had returned to the ship and left not long after, heading in the same direction as before. Clearly Tyr was staying with this woman and from his landing Zero knew there was a small house nearby that belonged to fishermen of some kind and decided that that was his best bet for finding Tyr. Either way he'd follow Tyr's latest set of tracks around the lake and through the forest. Travelling at a jog it took him a half hour to reach another small lake which turned out to be a river inlet. The tracks led right up to the front door of the house and Zero crouched down in the tree line and waited patiently.

Five minutes later he saw a male form walk past a window but it wasn't Tyr, it was too small, slightly smaller than Zero. Possibly a teenager. The main door of the building opened and a young man, perhaps sixteen or seventeen walked out with a crate in his hands. He walked up to the water line and crouched there and submerged the crate, washing blood and dirt from the fish that had been in the crate. Zero looked back at the house and Tyr and a slim woman, who's form matched the tracks he'd seen before, walked out onto the wooden decking around the house. Tyr leaned against the wall and seemed to be watching the young man from across the grass strewn sand between the house and the water.

The woman spoke to him and Tyr turned to her to listen but Zero couldn't hear what was being said. Zero stood up and walked out onto the beach and wasn't surprised at the speed that Tyr saw him and grabbed his pistol from his hip. Zero frowned when it was clear that Tyr didn't recognise him nor lower the weapon and as he approached a little more he could see Tyr's eyes sweeping over him, taking in his Force Lance, pistol, black clothing and his arms, noting the lack of bone blades probably.

"Breyon!" The woman called and the young man stood up, looked at the woman then at Zero before he jogged back to the house worriedly.

"Get inside." Tyr told her putting himself between Zero and the two humans.

"What the hell's wrong with you?" Zero asked as he stopped a few metres away from Tyr who still had the pistol aimed at his chest.

"Do you know me?" Tyr asked slowly with a frown.

Zero frowned back at the odd question before his eyes widened. The nano-bots had targeted the impulses in Tyr's brain too. "I know you." Zero nodded.

Tyr made to start lowering the pistol before bringing it up again. "How? And who are you?"

"My name's Zero." He told the Nietzschean. "I found out you were in trouble and came to find you."

"How?" Tyr reiterated.

"I helped build most of the computer systems of the _Maru_." Zero told him. "I tracked it down."

"The _Maru_?" Tyr frowned. "The ship?"

"The nano-bots did their job then." Zero sighed. "This is going to be harder than I thought."

"Why?" Tyr frowned.

"Well I thought you just couldn't take off again and needed my help but if this is the case you're not going to trust me." Zero rubbed at his head. "We should go inside before someone see's you."

Tyr grunted and moved aside to let Zero in through the door. Zero walked passed him and into the house knowing that Tyr still had the pistol aimed loosely at his back. The woman and boy were waiting nervously and they turned to stare at Zero who saw them look at his lack of bone blades as a matter of course. "I'm not a Nietzschean." Zero told them.

"You're a human?" The woman asked just to be on the safe side.

"Yeah." Zero shrugged. "I'm a friend of his but I don't suppose he can verify that. I came looking to help him."

"How'd you get here?" The boy, Breyon, asked.

"Slipfighter." Zero shrugged.

"Slipfighter?" She frowned. "Those are High Guard."

"So is the Glorious Heritage class heavy cruiser that we are both crew of." Zero told her simply knowing that lying with Tyr without his memory was a bad idea in case Tyr remembered a little and realised he was lying.

"That's impossible!" Breyon frowned.

Zero shrugged again. "It's under temporary repairs so I had to come by Slipfighter. I didn't exactly expect his memory to be gone though."

"Who are you?" She asked.

"Sorry, my name's Zero." Zero offered his hand which she took after a moment.

"Yvaine." She smiled. "This is Breyon."

"What kind of a name is Zero?" The boy asked.

"Ironically I was the one that lost my entire memory four and a half years ago." Zero told them with a sigh. "He's normally reminding me about that interestingly enough. Anyway, Zero is from my designation."

"Desig..." She trailed off in horror and Zero nodded and pulled down the shirt at his neck to expose the tattoo on his left collar bone. A series of numbers, his designation.

"I was a slave to the Drago-Kazov." Zero told them seriously. "And not like you either. You give tributes right but that's it?"

"Normally." She sighed knowing that Zero was a completely different type of slave.

"Yeah. My life wasn't really a life." Zero told her seeing what she was thinking. "Anyway, enough about that."

"What are you going to do?"

"Well he's clearly not remembering anything about what I just said or he would have said something by now." Zero jerked his head at Tyr behind and to his left who had put his pistol away a while back. "But until he's got his memory back I'd rather we stay here if that's not more trouble for you."

"It's fine." She nodded. "Nemo?"

"Nemo?" Zero frowned before realising she was talking to Tyr.

Tyr nodded with a grunt. "What's my name?"

Zero bit his lip and glanced around but didn't see any harm in jump starting his memory. "Tyr." Zero told them eventually and caught the Nietzschean's eyes for a moment before Tyr nodded in acceptance.

"Is that right?" Yvaine asked Tyr.

"It doesn't sound wrong." Tyr frowned. "Nor did anything else he said."

"You have anything to eat around here?" Zero asked after a moment of silence. "I'm starving and all I've got is cold bars and I've been jumping around the Drago-Kazov fleet ships for hours."

"I've got some cold fish if you want some." She offered. "I could heat it up..."

"Cold's fine." Zero assured her.

XOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOX

**That night**

Zero awoke from a troubled sleep like normal when there was a shocked gasp nearby. He sat up and his Force Lance was in his hand in a split second even as he turned to see Tyr sitting up with Breyon's wrist in his hand and a pistol in the boy's grip even as he struggled against Tyr for a moment. It didn't take long for Zero to work out what had happened and he relaxed his aim with the Force Lance and spun sideways to stand up. He sighed as he clipped his belt around his waist but forwent his shirt for the time being as he crossed the small gap and gently coaxed the pistol from Breyon and then with a sharp look at Tyr ordered him to release the boy.

Breyon darted out of the room and out onto the beach and Zero followed him out into the comfortably night air just in time to see Breyon chuck a stone far into the inlet. "I get being angry with them, Breyon." Zero told him.

"You don't know anything about my life!" Breyon hissed at him.

"No, I don't." Zero shook his head. "But I understand the anger. I've been there and I've given into the anger and it's cost me more than I would have liked."

"Like what?" Breyon rounded on him in the darkness.

"The slave that I thought of as my mother for the four years of life that I knew." Zero told him simply. "All because I reacted to the insults."

"So you think we should just let them walk over us?" Breyon argued.

"I wish I didn't think that." Zero sighed. "But if there isn't any realistic hope of freedom then you shouldn't try for it."

"How did you escape then?" Breyon asked. "Weren't you one of their pets?"

"I had skills and complete control of their computers." Zero told him quietly. "But I could only ensure my own escape and there were those that I couldn't leave behind. So I dealt with it for as long as I had to."

"And then they killed her?" Breyon seemed to have moved beyond his anger now.

"And sold my family to a pleasure drift." Zero nodded slowly. "There was nothing there for me to protect after that so I ran for it. Hijacked a cargo ship, the one Tyr crashed, befriended the crew and then worked for them to pay them back for what I did."

"What about your family?" Breyon frowned.

"I rescued them a few weeks back." Zero said quietly and Breyon looked back out over the water. "I wish there was a way that I could free all of the slaves in the known Galaxies but I'm only one person and even if I could free an entire world where would that lead us. They'd just move onto another world. Until somebody can changed the entire Galaxy to fight as a whole and get rid of slavery then we're stuck."

"And this High Guard ship?" Breyon asked.

"It's not as much the ship." Zero smiled slightly and saw Breyon look at him in curiosity. "It's more the man that Captains it. He's got the determination and strength to actually pull it off."

Breyon smiled ever so slightly and Zero touched him on the shoulder before turning to head back to the house to try to get some more rest.

XOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOX

**The next day**

Zero worried his lip as he ran through the woods towards where he'd seen a Lancer drop pod enter the atmosphere. Tyr had disappeared rather quickly when they spied a landing trail heading for the local town. Zero had been scouting at the time and hadn't been able to reach the _Maru_ until it was too late to find that Tyr had disappeared once again. When more Nietzscheans had begun to search the forests for him Zero had kept out of the way until he'd returned to the house to find signs of a struggle from within and Breyon and Yvaine missing.

He'd followed the trail half way across the forest in the same direction that he'd traced Tyr after he'd disappeared that morning but had diverted towards the _Maru_ to meet the Drop Pod. Whoever had come down in it was already inside the _Maru_ when he arrived and he slipped inside and snuck through the ship towards the bridge and only didn't draw his Force Lance because he could hear Beka moaning about the state of the ship. He walked into the control room and Dylan rounded on him with his Force Lance before sighing in relief when he saw who he was.

"What the hell happened here, Zero?" Beka demanded.

"It looks like he crashed." Zero shrugged. "Just like I told you he would."

"Why?" Dylan asked remembering rightly that Zero hadn't known the reason when he'd left the _Andromeda_.

"Nano-bots scrambled the computer system as well as Tyr's memories. His Nietzschean immune system resisted and he managed to lose his pursuers I presume but he doesn't remember any specifics about who he is." Zero explained. "I found him last night staying with a couple of humans from the local area but he didn't recognise me."

"And now what?" Beka asked with an irritated gesture.

"I've already started repairing the computers and once they're clear I can see if she'll fly again." Zero told her obediently. "But the Nietzscheans are about. I think they took Tyr, Yvaine and Breyon into the forest."

"Why?" Dylan asked.

"I don't know. Probably because of whatever Tyr did to upset them but I'm not even sure if Tyr knows that at the moment." Zero explained and saw Dylan's worry. "I think he'll make a recovery. The nano-bots have just temporarily blocked the memories from being accessed. They're rather crude actually. They don't use any of the types of systems I'd..."

"Alright, Zero." Dylan cut him off before he could get into what he'd do to create the same effect. Zero bit his lip. "Do you know where they went?"

"There's a trail from here leading west that Tyr took this morning when he moved whatever it was he took from the Nietzscheans. I was following a track leading in about the same direction from the house where they were last so I imagine that Tyr is taking them to the same place." Zero suggested. "If we follow the trail..."

Dylan nodded when Zero trailed off but then spoke. "You stay here and get the _Maru _up and running. Hopefully before we need to use her to make a quick get-away." Dylan ordered Zero who nodded and then watched as his two Captains headed out of the ship. Zero sighed before heading back through the ship to its computer core to find out if his counter-measures had finished ridding the core of nano-bots. Then he could work out how many hours it would take to get the ship up in the air again.

XOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOX

**Two hours later**

Zero grinned happily as the ship hummed almost happily and levelled itself. He wasn't going to risk taking off in case a Nietzschean ship spotted him on their sensors so just hovered the ship just over the water and deployed the landing struts. The stern struts automatically deployed further than the forward ones to settle the ship horizontally and then Zero shut off the main engines but left them on standby for a quick getaway. The repairs had been rather simple once he knew what had happened. He'd been around Harper enough to know how to do a botch job when he needed to but still Harper's version of a botch job was about the same standard of any other person's best work and that was just the way Harper was. Then again Zero was the same, he could do things with computers without really thinking about it when the same task would take a whole group of intelligent people months to do and massive amounts of failed programmes. Cyrus was a perfect testament to that and Zero wasn't shy about thinking it.

He scanned the frequencies looking for anything on the radio and overheard Dylan talking to Tyr on the radio. They didn't seem to be in trouble and Dylan sounded like Tyr knew what he was saying. _"...check on Zero and see how the repairs are going."_ Dylan finished off.

"_That little runt enjoyed the last few days immensely."_ Tyr grunted back and Zero laughed and used the _Maru's_ radio to respond.

"Well this little runt has the _Maru _in near perfect working order." Zero interrupted. "I'm no Harper but I'm me so the computers are fine again."

"_Will the repairs hold?"_ Beka's voice asked him.

"The mass reducer fried when the nano-bots invaded so Tyr crashed when the mass of the _Maru_ expanded to about five thousand times the thrusters capacity." Zero explained. "As long as we don't run into a fleet of Nietzschean ships between here and the _Andromeda_ we'll be fine."

"_Good to hear it, Zero."_ Dylan told him. _"Well done. Head to the house, Yvaine and Breyon want to see you before we go."_

"Roger Cap." Zero said with amusement before sliding out of the pilot's seat and heading out of the ship and down the now properly open ramp and onto the beach. Before he headed into the trees he activated the remote on the Slip Fight and let it raise to the surface. At least Dylan and Beka could decide what to do with it now that they knew where it was.

It didn't take him long to reach the inlet with the house and he found Breyon throwing pebbles into the water again. He couldn't see where Yvaine or Tyr were but assumed they were inside the house. He walked up behind Breyon who glanced at him and then turned back to throwing stones.

"If for an instant you thought that Dylan would agree to let you come along with us would you really want to?" Zero asked knowing exactly what the boy was thinking. His certainty wasn't because of a vision but because he could understand the emotions on the boy's face. Breyon paused with a pebble in his hand and just stared at the water. "I know the Galaxy isn't fair, kid. I, especially, know that. I've probably been dealt the worst hand by fate but you can't let it get to you. You can prove that you're better than the Nietzscheans by surviving. And not only surviving but living. Enjoying what little life can offer you."

"I have to stay with Yvaine." Breyon told him after turning to look him straight in the eyes. Zero nodded and smiled just slightly. "We'll leave. She's already said so. We'll go to some friends and help them out. It's quieter there without so many Nietzscheans."

"I promise, Breyon, that as soon as the Galaxy changes you'll know about it. The Nietzscheans are getting complacent and they'll kill each other off before the end. The Drago-Kasuv might be the strongest of the prides but eventually they'll shrivel up and when they do the humans they lord over will rise up on them." Zero told him. "When that happens don't go looking for trouble, just protect what you can and leave it to people that don't have people to protect."

"What about your family?" Breyon asked. "What will you do when it comes to fighting, protect them or help your Captain?"

"I'll make sure they're safe first." Zero told him. "But Dylan needs the skills that only I can provide him with so the best way for me to protect them is to be on the frontline."

"You're so strange..." Breyon frowned.

Zero laughed but didn't answer knowing that he did come across as rather strange to almost everyone in the Galaxy but he didn't much care. He turned around to head for the house and Breyon fell in at his side. Zero put an arm around his shoulders and gave him a brief hug but nothing more needed to be said. They might see each other again but Zero wasn't sure if they would and half hoped they wouldn't if it meant that Yvaine and Breyon were safe and out of sight.

XOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOX

End Chapter


	8. Shadow of doubt

Sacrifice

Chapter 8; Shadow of doubt

Zero smiled at the flashing patterns of Cyrus' core. It was now verging on being as complex as Andromeda's core except it was a single personality and didn't have the massive memory banks for database information or ship control routines. Cyrus reminded him of a child still and his obvious affection for Zero as a father figure warmed Zero's heart immensely. Cyrus had asked Zero yesterday if he could have historical files so he could learn about the Commonwealth that Zero had told him Dylan was trying to recreate and he'd given them to Cyrus who had hugged him in the virtual matrix before vanishing, becoming an immense network of lights as he ranged through the files. He was storing it in something close to a separate memory base and not trying to absorb any of it but on occasion Zero could see that he was copying parts of it. Absorbing concepts and language attributes from the historical files to add to his personality. Like deciding he liked somebody's hairstyle and deciding to change his own.

He jerked as he felt somebody touch his physical shoulder and his reaction made Cyrus stop moving through the files. "It's alright, Cy. Just somebody outside. I'll come back tomorrow."

With that he jacked out of the matrix and pushed away from Cyrus' bank of consoles and turned to look at Beka. "What's so interesting in these consoles, anyway? I've been calling you for ages."

"You really want an explanation?" Zero asked with a small grin, still slightly nervous about being recriminated by his Captain.

"Uh... maybe not." She laughed.

"What's up, boss?" He asked.

"The _Maru_ is playing up a little. Something about heavy load balance." She shrugged.

"I'm going to pretend I know what that is." Zero frowned.

"It's so the ship can adjust its thruster output when the cargo pod is full." She explained. "According to Harper. You think you can have a look at it today?"

"Sure..." He frowned. "Thrusters sound more like Harper's style though."

"He says he's already looked and it's a computer thing." She grinned as Zero groaned. "Harper and I are taking the _Maru_ to collect stores tomorrow so..."

"It's at the top of my list already." Zero smiled at her. "Right next to the relay substations on deck 18 that Harper fried the other day."

"How many engineers did this ship have in her hayday?" Beka asked and the hologram of Andromeda appeared beside her.

"Eight hundred and twenty engineers, five hundred and fifty electrical and computer specialists and sixty computer analyst engineers." She said proudly.

"And now you have two." Beka deadpanned.

"And she's still running." Zero pointed out with a pleased grin.

"A testimony to your skill." Andromeda smiled at him.

"You're just saying that to make sure he doesn't stop fixing you." Beka smirked.

"Says the woman who just asked me to fix _her_ ship." Zero laughed and Beka gaped at him at being caught out. Andromeda laughed and vanished.

"Tell Dylan that I'll be jacked into the _Maru's_ core until I have the problem fixed." Zero told Beka. "Just get Andromeda to contact me if anyone wants me for something."

XOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOX

_Zero looked at a figure across a massive cavern. Fire lined the bottom of the cavern and he could see hundreds of Magog in entrances like his own all worshipping a figure in the centre. Zero could see it clear as day and this didn't feel like a vision like his dreams normally did. This felt more real. For a moment he couldn't recognise what species the figure in the centre was, it was like he just couldn't actually focus clearly on him and then suddenly he was looking at himself across the fiery cavern and then standing in darkness looking over at a perfectly lit image of himself wearing loose grey combat trousers and a tight black t-shirt._

"_Why?" The image of himself asked him and suddenly his eyes were red. Zero staggered backwards when he realised that it was blood in his eyes, then blood from his nose and mouth and then seeping from a cut on his throat. Then the figure of himself was shirtless and there were dozens of cuts on his chest and arms, all seeping blood. "You're doing this to us, you know? Why did you do it?"_

"_What did I do?" Zero gasped out. It was the first time he'd managed to speak in one of his dreams, at least by choice._

"_You should just kill us." The figure told him. "Before you kill all of them."_

_Then the figure seemed to deflate, looking tired with all of the blood on his body, soaking into his grey combats. "It's too late for you to do anything." The figure's voice was tired and strained but before Zero could even think of reacting the figure leapt at him but it wasn't himself that hit him but a massive black Panther. Zero tumbled backwards under it and felt his throat being torn out._

He screamed as he came awake and his lights flashed up as Andromeda appeared as a hologram. Zero stared at her and then swallowed the bile in his throat only for it to cause pain. "Zero, your throat." Andromeda prompted him.

Zero pulled his hand away from his throat and looked at the blood on his hands and on his fingernails. "What?" he rasped out touching at his throat again. It didn't seem to be massively bleeding but by the feel of it he'd tried to scratch a hole in his own throat. He choked as his chest tightened up and he pulled himself back across his bed, putting his back to the wall and tucking his knees up. He broke down utterly and completely like he never had before because something about that nightmare had really struck his emotions. It wasn't like a premonition, it was judgement on Zero himself.

All of a sudden Zero had it all laid out in front of him, he was an alright person now as far as he knew. He trusted Dylan, Beka, Trance, Rev and even Tyr to be the good guys and he especially trusted Harper. Those were people that had their own thoughts and feelings, their own concept of right and wrong and they judged him to be 'right'. But what did Zero know about right and wrong? Sure, he'd done what he'd thought was 'right' by sabotaging the ships he'd hacked into because he'd felt that it was wrong to steal them but who was to say that that was the right decision. He'd forced Beka to take him away and he'd even hijacked the _Andromeda Ascendant_ but those had been for good reasons. He'd rescued Joseph and Izus after all.

So even if he was a good person now did that make up for any past that he might have? No matter what he'd done in the last four and a half years it couldn't possibly compare to the eighteen years before. Had he grown up on Earth? Had he been like he was now? For all Zero knew the massacres he'd witnessed in his mind weren't something he'd witnessed but something he'd actually caused. For all he knew he could have been a monster. If that wasn't the truth then why was he telling himself in his precognitive dreams that he was a monster? Was it really too late for him to redeem himself? Was killing himself the only option to save the people around him? Why was he suddenly telling himself all of this?

Zero cried out as warm hands touched him and he scrambled out of bed and crawled into the corner curling himself up. Someone followed him and tried to turn him onto his back. "Leave me alone." Zero hissed out, assuming it was Harper. Andromeda must have let him in but then he remembered that Harper and Beka had left in the early hours of the morning for their stores and parts run. Joseph then.

"No, Zero." Joseph's soft voice told him. "Look at me."

"No." Zero shook his head. "I'm a monster."

Joseph grabbed him and yanked him around pulling his arms away from their position wrapped around him. "You are not a monster!" Joseph argued before gasping as he spotted Zero's still bleeding neck. "We need to get you looked at. Andromeda, could you..."

"No!" Zero shot up. "I deserve it."

"Why do you deserve it?" Andromeda asked as a hologram.

Zero breathed steadily facing off with the two of them, hologram and human. "I don't know."

"You've done nothing to deserve anything bad, Zero." Joseph tried to reassure him.

"Prove it!" Zero snapped.

"What?" Joseph flinched.

"Prove. It." Zero hissed. "You can't! Nobody can. I can't. I don't remember three quarters of my life. How do you know I don't deserve to be blown straight out of the airlock? I see so much in my dreams and some of the massacres...." He choked down bile before he continued. "How do we know I didn't do all of that?"

He crumbled to his knees and vomited onto the floor as his dizziness, exhaustion and panic caught up to his body. He was blacking out before Joseph could get to him and he slumped to the ground unconscious.

XOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOX

_Seamus gritted his teeth as his back arched off of the darkness he was lying on. It was like he was being tortured and Zero could only watch in horror, unable to do anything at all._

_Zero stood on the bridge of the _Andromeda Ascendant_ and it was so clear to him that he could feel the cold metal of the railing that ran around the raised ramps at the back. Dylan and Rommie were watching Beka's concerned looking image. "You need to tell Trance to have med deck ready. Harper's going to need attention. Whatever that Perseid did..."_

"_Trance is already waiting on med deck." Zero heard himself say and saw Dylan's eyes widen slightly._

"_We're already on our way to scoop you up. It seems Zero already knew what was going to happen." Dylan glanced back at Zero even as he reassured Beka._

"_Sorry, Beka." Zero shook his head when she looked over Dylan and Rommie to look at him. Her eyes confused. "I didn't see it until after you'd already left."_

"_Zero's been pretty out of it this morning." Dylan explained._

"_Hurry, Beka." Zero warned._

_Zero found himself standing in a vast white space and had the urge to look down at his hands only to cry out in surprise as flames burst into existence on his hands and then spread up his arms. He panicked, only just realising that he couldn't feel it at all. He spotted something far beneath his feet and then suddenly he was falling, or at least that was how it felt. Instead of hitting whatever it was he seemed to fall into it. A building to his right exploded but the whole bombed out scene was like a film._

"_Get it out of me, Zero!" Harper was in front of him, his teeth gritted in pain._

"_I've got all of this in my head, Zero. It's amazing. Everything in here!" Harper cried happily from his right. "Imagine what I could do with all of this."_

_The scene changed and Zero found himself looking at a chaotic town. He was standing among crowds of screaming humans, all jostling him as they ran past. He turned as he heard a snarl and flinched back as three Magog appeared grabbing humans and killing them, slaughtering all of the humans. "Zero!" Harper gasped desperately and Zero spun to find himself face to face with a panicked Harper. "He.... That man, he tried to... Help me!"_

_Zero was thrown to the side and when he hit the floor he knew he was in one of the workshops in the Andromeda. A big man had Harper pinned to the side of a strange metal machine and he had his hand around Harper's neck. Zero tried to help Harper but he couldn't move._

_Zero was standing in the white space again facing a blank-faced Harper who had his arms held out to the sides and behind him, breaking the white space into millions of pieces were flickering images of billions of films, documents, events. Every kind of record imaginable. All of them seemingly going into, or out of, Harper._

Zero woke up and knew instantly that he was in med deck and he turned his head and saw Trance on the other side of the room. He was breathing heavily and knew he was a little on the panicked side from his latest vision. Some of his dreams were rather vague but on other occasions it was like he was seeing an actual event as if he was actually there. He hated seeing Harper in pain and the sense he got from the vision crept him out.

Trance was trying to give him time but Zero could see in the way she was moving that she was focused on Zero. "I know you know I'm awake, Trance." Zero sighed as he let his head fall back onto the bed with a thump. She turned around and was at his side quite quickly.

"Good afternoon." She smiled at him. Zero groaned at that news. "_Andromeda's_ nanobots have fixed up your neck."

Zero sighed, not wanting to think about his nightmare last night and focused instead on the vision of Harper. He sat up. "Can I go?" He asked quietly taking Trance by surprise though when he touched her arm she seemed a little less upset by his abruptness. She nodded. "Dylan says you're to take it easy."

"Something tells me we'll all be busy enough soon." Zero told her before acting on intuition. "You should probably stay here. Harper and Beka will be back soon and Harper's going to need you."

"You saw something?" She asked.

"I..." Zero shook his head. "I don't know."

"Go on then, but take it easy." She warned. Zero nodded and slipped off of the bed.

"Andromeda?" He asked as he walked out of the room.

"Yes, Zero?" Her core personality appeared on a screen.

"Position of the _Maru_?" He asked simply.

"They should enter the system soon. They had a small run in a nearby system before they could Slip to us." She informed him.

"Is Dylan on the command deck?" He asked and she nodded as she flickered to a new screen in front of him.

"Can you suggest to him from me that we close on their predicted exit position?" Zero asked. "I'm on my way up now."

She vanished from sight and Zero sped up. He knew by what he'd seen himself say that he wouldn't be in time to stop whatever had happened from happening but he could at least play out the vision as he had seen it. He walked into the command deck a few minutes later just in time to see a slip stream portal open on the viewer. Where it was in relation to their position he didn't know though.

"Zero?" Dylan asked simply in way of wanting an explanation.

"I don't know what happened." Zero shook his head but was interrupted from saying anything when, as soon as he touched the railing unconsciously, an image of Beka appeared on the screen.

"Beka, what's happened?" Dylan asked.

Beka frowned having obviously expected the _Andromeda Ascendant_ to be in a different location and not heading straight at them and also she couldn't have expected Dylan to know anything was wrong. "You need to tell Trance to have med deck ready. Harper's going to need attention. Whatever that Perseid did..."

"Trance is already waiting on med deck." Zero said word for word. He wondered if he could say anything else in this situation but never actually got the urge to really test it. Could he actually just blurt something out?

"We're already on our way to scoop you up. It seems Zero already knew what was going to happen." Dylan glanced back at Zero just as he had in Zero's vision.

"Sorry, Beka." Zero shook his head when she looked at him. "I didn't see anything until after you'd already left."

"Zero's been pretty out of it this morning." Dylan explained and Zero winced at the reference to last night. Clearly everyone but Beka and Harper knew.

"Hurry, Beka." Zero warned but then decided to elaborate but since that was when the vision had ended he might have said it anyway. "Whatever this is it's going to really affect Harper."

XOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOX

Zero sat on the bed next to Harper's in Med deck as Trance looked his friend over and worried his hands. "I'm fine, Zero!" Harper rolled his eyes but winced when Trance lightly touched his interface where the Perseid had done whatever he'd done.

"I'll be the judge of that." Zero announced jumping up and yanked out the cable from the coil built into the back of his databoard. He stopped at Harper's side and met his eyes.

"What's the delay?" Trance asked glancing at Dylan, Rommie and Beka. Tyr and Rev were who knew where not to mention Joseph and Izus. He knew that Andromeda was teaching them both what they had missed as slaves but Zero spent at least three hours a day with them although that time was normally spent with him using a data board or a flexi.

"Accessing somebody's interface is an extremely personal matter amongst both humans and AIs." Rommie spoke up.

"AIs have the advantage that when interfacing it has the capacity to overcome the intruder. The base computer holds all control." Zero explained. "If I interface with Harper's port I have unprecedented access through this data board."

"It's kinda creepy." Harper shuddered.

"I don't have..." Zero frowned.

"Maybe Rommie can..." Dylan started.

"No, I trust Zero." Harper nodded to him. Zero smiled at the truth in Harper's eyes. After the night before it made him feel so much more alive to hear that trust in Harper's voice, his face, his eyes. He moved closer and slotted the cable into Harper's port and watched Harper's eyes roll up.

He waited for something to happen but was surprised when none of the programs in Harper's interface surged into the data board. He frowned. "What?" Beka gasped.

"His firewalls and protective viruses are down." Zero frowned.

"What's the chances they're faulty?" Beka asked.

"None." Zero shook his head.

"You're sure?" Beka frowned.

Zero nodded. "I wrote them." He didn't look up as he tapped away at the board, forcing it to understand Harper's unique method of thinking and processing information. As soon as it connected there was a fizzing sound and the screen died. Zero frowned. "Well that was bad."

"What?" Dylan asked in concern.

"His mind overloaded the data board." Zero frowned.

"Always said I was a genius." Harper grinned with his eyes shut.

"I'm going to jack straight in, Shay." Zero told him. "That alright?"

"Whatever you say, boss." Harper grinned. Zero rolled his eyes and pulled the cable from his fried data board and slotted it into his neck. His eyes flickered as the world vanished around him and he plunged through the link and into Harper's interface. The programming was an utter mess and he'd have to completely wipe it and build it up from scrap but Zero could get past them without much problem. When he linked with Harper's mind though it was like seeing a nuclear explosion go off. For a split second he could see an image of Harper watching him with a white expanse around them and suddenly he realised it wasn't just white but filled with images swirling around them and flickering into existence behind Harper. Then it was gone and Zero had to wrench the cable out to stop the information dumping itself into his mind too.

"What is it, Zero?" Dylan asked as Zero regained his balance on the edge of the next bed.

He pulled the cable out of Harper's interface and Harper looked at him with a wince. Zero glanced at Dylan and then Beka. "That Perseid downloaded so much information into Harper's mind. So much there isn't all that much room left."

"What do we do?" Beka asked. "How do we get it out of him?"

"I'll have to run some programs." Zero shook his head. "The sooner it comes out the better. Harper's going to start absorbing it into long term memory soon and it'll be harder to remove then, if not impossible."

"What does that mean?" Beka asked. "For those of us that don't understand as much as you two."

"You see a film of something you know you didn't actually take part. The memory of watching it is stored in your memory but not the actual event that is on the film." Zero tried to explain in layman's terms. "Harper's mind will try to actually absorb the events themselves. Probably mostly as dreams and then he'll start to think he was actually witness to the original events. I saw a few of them just now and last night in my own dreams about this. They're not pleasant."

"How do we get them out then?" Beka asked.

"Give me a few hours to work something out with Harper." Zero told them. "Rommie, I'm going to need in on your core."

Beka caught his eyes and he knew that he could ask her for anything right now and she'd go out of her way to get it. Dylan backed out of the room and then eventually Beka left to. Rommie studied him for a moment before nodding to give permission and Zero used his wireless link to connect his interface to one of the consoles in the room that could handle linking him through to the core AI.

He glanced around and when he was finally looking forward again the Core AI was standing in front of him. "Are you alright, Zero?" She asked.

"It's Harper we're supposed to be worrying about." Zero pointed out bluntly.

"Yet I am concerned for you also. As is Dylan." She retorted. "What happened to you last night?"

"It's just a dream, Andromeda." Zero explained. "Maybe even just a normal one."

"Your heart rate and blood pressure spiked exactly as they do during every one of your prophetic dreams leading me to believe that it is of the same description." She told him brutally.

"So prophetically speaking I'm going to turn into a Panther and tear out my own throat?" Zero asked sarcastically making her frown. He hadn't told anyone the details yet, not even Joseph.

"Not all of your dreams are to be taken literally." She pointed out logically.

"I can't explain what the dream was about, Andromeda, and we have more important things to worry about right now that don't involve my sanity." He said bluntly and reached out for the interface logic that governed everything when Zero jacked into her Core.

"What is it that you have in mind?" She asked.

"Right now Harper has a massive amount of information in his brain, more than it can handle and soon it's going to start compressing itself to settle alongside his own. I opened up my own sense readout from when I was linked to Harper's interface. Take what you can from that and run a simulation so we get an idea of time for when he starts getting permanent brain damage." Zero added in his request. She could easily talk to him and do a million different simulations at the same time without straining herself. "You've got plenty of space in your Core for all of the information currently residing in Harper's mind and as a bonus there really is an argument for not deleting it completely. That Perseid wouldn't have downloaded it to Harper unless he had a reason."

"Then you are suggesting a download into my core?" She asked. "Something like that has never been done. Transfer of so much information through your interfaces is not possible."

"I know." Zero nodded. "Perhaps something else will work. I'll start working on reception software as soon as I can and talk to Harper. If anyone can come up with a device then it's him."

She nodded and Zero jacked out again with a sigh as he entered the real world. He pulled out his wireless device and started explaining what he wanted to Harper.

XOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOX

**Four hours later**

"It's impressive, Cy." Zero told him with a smile. Cyrus grinned at him proudly and held out the matrix of information currently held in his hand. Zero had come into Cyrus' core to write a program that would allow Andromeda's core to absorb the massive amounts of information with barely a delay. Cyrus had done most of the work using the fact that he could write parts of himself without hesitation whereas Andromeda wasn't permitted to do such a thing. And even if she could it was one of her very few limitations. She just couldn't write programs for herself. It was something that showed how advanced Cyrus really was. He was the first AI that Zero had ever discovered who could self-write parts of himself. He could evolve and he'd just proven how effective that was.

Zero downloaded the program into an external drive. "Is Harper going to be alright?" Cyrus asked.

"I hope so." Zero told him. "My dreams didn't show him being permanently harmed by this."

Cyrus was fascinated with Zero's prophetic dreams and Zero had even started using his interface to show them to Cyrus who now had something similar to Andromeda's core database and in his spare time, when he was writing parts of himself or with Zero he was running simulations using the database, literally witnessing history and trying to change it in hindsight. Ever since he'd heard of Zero's connection to Earth Cyrus had become obsessed with Harper's link to it and also to anything to do with Earth and was trying to piece Earth together in his mind and more often than not the matrix that Zero appeared in was some Ancient part of Earth. Currently they were standing in what Cyrus called the 'Las Vegas Strip', whatever that was supposed to be.

"I'll be back soon, Cy." Zero promised before he jacked out and back into his body in his lab.

XOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOX

**Four hours later**

Zero was working in the med deck on the machine that he and Harper had designed rather quickly. With Harper's enhanced mind and Zero's knack for creating things like this they'd come up with a safe way to remove the memories without damaging Harper's mental synapses in the process. He'd already installed the program that he'd written with a lot of Cyrus' help into Andromeda's core and she'd been very impressed with the program.

He was a little concerned by the man that had arrived with a warrant for the Perseid and had watched the man using Andromeda's systems as he'd come and gone with the body but Zero knew he'd be back and had warned Dylan. Rommie was keeping an eye on Harper at all times so that eased Zero's concern a little bit.

"_Tyr, get to hanger 5 now!"_ Dylan's voice called over the ship's tannoy and Zero dropped his tools and was half way down the corridor before he could really think about it. Hanger 5 was where Harper was working, building something from Ancient Earth and Zero could remember his dream.

He ran into the room ahead of Tyr and drew the High Guard Lance from the holster on his leg and powered it up, pointing it at the Bounty Hunter who turned away from where he'd been backing Harper into his contraption to look directly at Zero. His lips turned up into a sneer and Zero fired the Lance.

His shot missed as the man leapt to the side and forwards and before Zero could react the man slammed into him and Zero found himself hurtling backwards into the wall. The man stayed standing in the centre of the hanger sneering at him as Zero caught himself before he could fall to the floor. Zero looked up with a glare, baring his teeth with a vicious snarl that surprised even him. A loud growling filled the air and the man was clearly shocked but he didn't have time to kill Zero, or whatever he'd had planned, before Tyr ran into the room and instantly started battling with him.

Zero knew that this was the end of the threat to Harper for the time being and let the pain in the back of his head take precedence. He pushed off of the wall as soon as Dylan appeared and the Bounty Hunter decided that he was outnumbered. He glanced once at Harper before his form faded and he sunk through the deck.

Zero winced as he prodded at the back of his head before heading over with Dylan to check on Harper as Tyr ran out of the room to try to track down the Bounty Hunter. Dylan glanced at him. "Pre-warning?" He asked.

"Harper wasn't in any danger." Zero frowned. "I was here in time."

"You were though." Harper frowned at him and grabbed his right shoulder to turn Zero to have a look at the back of his head.

"Med deck, Zero." Dylan ordered. "Harper, take him please."

XOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOX

**The next day**

Zero had been surprisingly tired throughout the rest of the day and night as he worked in the med deck. They came under attack from the Bounty Hunter's ship and even though Harper drew him off Zero had to spend four hours in the middle of the night fixing the Slip Stream Drive where the Bounty Hunter had shot a hole straight through them with a Point Singularity Bullet and then gotten straight back to work with a concerned Trance watching over his shoulder, possibly waiting in case he fell asleep on his work.

Dylan and Beka had gotten Zero back and lost the Bounty Hunter and seeing how close Harper was to actual brain damage it was time to put the machine to work. "Ready?" Beka asked her friend and engineer.

Harper nodded and Zero tapped a few buttons on the data board attached to the machine to power it up. "Lie still, Harper." Zero commented.

"I know." Harper nodded. "Just get it out of me, Zero."

"Gladly." Zero nodded and activated the machine. Light struck Harper in the head from the ring around the bed and his body twitched slightly. Trance checked his statistics and nodded to Zero who dialled up the machine. He saw information being uploaded into Andromeda's core. "Rommie?"

"Download rate acceptable." She nodded. "Your program is permitting download at eight times the speeds I am used to."

"Tell me to back it off if you need me to." Zero told her though he didn't need to tell her that the shorter the time the better for Harper. Zero watched the progress constantly over the next two minutes using every function of his data board to monitor the massive transfer rate. He planned to make this sort of transfer rate normal for Andromeda by making the program that Cyrus had written a bit more permanent and applicable for other types of information transfer. A message flashed up on the data board to tell him that the machine couldn't detect any more transferred files and instantly the download cut off.

"That's all of the transfer." Rommie reported.

"Start comparing files against your database." Dylan told her. "See what is new."

"Keep the files isolated though, Andromeda." Zero added without looking up from his data board. "We don't know what's among the files to prevent just this sort of thing. I'll have to check it myself for viruses."

"I'll be careful." Rommie nodded speaking for her core AI. "I've set up an isolated archive for the time being."

"How do you feel, Harper?" Trance asked.

"Normal?" Harper tried making Zero laugh.

"Nothing about you is normal, Shay." Zero muttered before blushing when he realised that everyone had heard him. Harper laughed and reached over to touch Zero on the arm.

XOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOX

**Two hours later**

"Zero, when was the last time you slept?" Dylan asked him as he walked onto the command deck to find Zero working at one of the consoles.

"I just finished working with Andromeda to check that there aren't any hidden traps in the information." Zero defended himself.

"That didn't answer my question." He pointed out. "Everyone else got a few hours sleep."

"The last time I slept was in the med deck just before Beka and Harper got back from their stores mission." Zero told him truthfully.

"You need your rest." Dylan pointed out.

"If I get tired enough to make a mistake then Andromeda will tell you." Zero pointed out.

"That's not the problem." Dylan shook his head. "I'd trust your work even if you were doing it half dead."

"Then what's the problem?" Zero asked just as Rommie and Beka walked into the room followed shortly after by Trance, Tyr, Rev and a tired looking Harper.

"Nobody wants to see you like this." Beka told him, clearly hearing much of the conversation.

"I'll survive." Zero argued before glancing around. "Why the gathering?"

"Andromeda says she found the file she believes the Bounty Hunter was after." Dylan announced.

"I have found a file that the Perseid tagged as important." She announced.

"Why didn't you tell me earlier?" Zero asked, feeling a little betrayed.

"I told her to wait until we got up here." Dylan chuckled. "Knowing you, you'd have tried to start analysing it already."

"And?" Zero asked.

"You're taking the rest of today off, Zero." Dylan told him. "Harper too. As soon as we're finished here both of you are to go to bed."

"Dylan, there's a sixty metre diameter hole straight through the ship." Zero frowned.

"We can do much of the work on it." Beka pointed out. "It'll be a few days before you and Harper can really get into it."

"Yeah come on, Zero, buddy." Harper laughed. "You can take _a_ day off."

"Fine." Zero grumbled before looking at the screen. "What's the file about?"

"Preliminary information states that it is evidence of Magog involvement on Brandenburg Tor." Andromeda's image on the screen announced.

"There isn't much to prove there." Beka pointed out.

"Indeed that is true." Rev mumbled sadly. "Most of my kind looks upon Brandenburg Tor with pride."

"Wait." Zero frowned. "What's Brandenburg Tor?"

Everyone automatically gave him a surprised look before realising that he didn't actually know. Sometimes they all found it far too easy to forget he didn't have any memories older than four and a half years ago. "The first strike of the Magog invasion of the Commonwealth." Tyr announced. "They massacred all of the humans on Brandenburg Tor. Three billion people."

"Wait..." Zero frowned looking at the deck. "I saw it."

"What?" Beka asked.

"My dream in the med deck when I was seeing Harper with the information in his mind." Zero spoke still looking down at the deck. "I was standing in a street lined by houses and there were humans screaming everywhere being slaughtered by Magog. I haven't really thought about it since."

"Then this _is_ important if we want to find out what happened here and what that Bounty Hunter wanted." Dylan nodded and Harper looked suddenly intrigued. He probably wanted to know the reason behind all of this. "Andromeda, run the file."

The image of Andromeda disappeared from the screen to be replaced by a dark street filled with people running and screaming. The image shook showing that it was taken by a camera. A Magog ran past the screen and it flinched as if knocked. The holder clearly wasn't human, perhaps a tripod set up before the attack. Then the sounds caught up, screaming, growling. Zero watched it all even after the tripod was knocked over showing more of the square.

"There's nothing new and incriminating here." Beka pointed out.

"Run it from where the tripod was knocked over." Tyr spoke up, moving down the ramp and closer to the screen. "I thought I saw something in the background.

The film started again. "Freeze it there." Dylan straightened up slightly. "Zoom in on the back, in the shadows." The film zoomed in and Zero froze, feeling himself go utterly still and cold. He couldn't take his eyes away from the screen and he couldn't move any part of his body. It was like his body wasn't his own anymore, like his lungs had stopped pulling in air and his heart seemed to be having trouble beating. In the centre of the screen, and standing upright now that Rommie had corrected for the fallen tripod, was a being made up of what seemed to be fiery darkness. He seemed like just an empty space where there should have been normal air. He was aware that the others in the room were talking about it but Zero couldn't even move.

For the first time in his life he knew he had a memory of this being. He didn't have a clue who it was but his instincts were insisting that his current situation had been brought about through some involvement with this being. His hands tightened involuntarily on the railing in front of him and he felt the blood rush from his face and before he knew it his hands were shaking.

"Zero?" The screen vanished to be replaced by the core AI. Zero staggered away from the railing and slipped off the step behind the console he'd been at. He landed heavily on his back in a daze and scrambled back away from Harper who tried to help him. He threw himself up and backed away from them all.

"No." Zero shook his head. He was denying his very existence in that one statement. "No."

"What, Zero?" Beka frowned. Zero backed up until his back hit the railing on the ramp and he ducked under it and onto the ramp. "Wait!" She called but Zero broke into a run and was out of the room before anyone could react. He threw himself down the corridors at a reckless speed and into his room. He hit the door controls and locked them.

He fell to his knees with a sob as his fingers scraped at the carpet. He was in pain but he didn't know where it came from. He felt like he'd been betrayed. He felt as if he'd been pretending for the last four and a half years and that he wasn't anything like who he'd made himself out to be. He looked up to see himself standing over him with a sad expression but he didn't say anything in either direction.

"Zero?" Andromeda's voice asked from his left and Zero turned to look at her holographic image.

"Please, leave me alone." Zero begged.

"You want me to activate privacy mode?" She asked.

"Is Dylan on his way?" He asked and she nodded. "He'll order you to release it won't he?"

"If I know my Captain then yes, he will." She nodded. "It would be for the best if you let him in yourself."

"I'm sorry, Andromeda, but I just need some time to myself." He told her. "And you can't give me that when Dylan can just revoke it."

"What are you doing, Zero?" She frowned as he forced himself to his feet and to his desk. He pulled out a small chip and moved to the keypad that locked the door and pulled open the front. He knew that she'd be warning Dylan that he was up to something so he probably only had a few seconds. He jabbed in the code that uploaded his virus.

"Sorry, Andromeda. Don't take this personally." He said looking back at her just as her image shut down. He'd kept this virus in his room just on the off chance that one day he just wanted to lock himself away in his rooms without anyone getting to him. A good idea in hindsight. It was a virus that completely shut down Andromeda's sensors within his rooms and prevented her from manipulating the doors into his room. They could probably cut through the doors but hopefully they'd take the hint.

He collapsed onto the floor in the corner of the room, not feeling worthy of something like a bed, and just curled up into a ball asking himself one simple question. 'How had that thing been involved in him being like he was now?'

XOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOX

**Two days later**

Zero sat on the end of his bed as he pulled on his boots. He knew it was the middle of the night and although he had no access to what had been happening outside of his doors he knew that the others had to be worried about him after so long. He felt extreme guilt that he'd done what he'd done but he hadn't really had much choice. It had been an entire day before he'd come out of his panic and another day to get his head around the fact that maybe he should be dead. That maybe he was a monster even worse that the Nietzscheans and the Magog. He knew he was good at electronics, he knew he was a brilliant fighter and he knew he had prophetic dreams. All of that didn't equal up to a peaceful person.

He moved to the wall panel and deleted his virus from Andromeda's systems and tucked the virus away in his desk again. He looked at Andromeda as she appeared as a hologram but she didn't speak for a moment. "There's no need to apologise for anything, Zero." She told him.

"I know you don't like being out of control." Zero said. "But I needed the time to myself."

She nodded. "Are you leaving your rooms?"

"Is Dylan awake?" He asked in way of answering.

"Everyone is asleep." She told him. "Dylan did leave orders that I was to awaken him if you left your rooms."

Zero winced. "Is he mad?"

"No, Zero." She shook her head. "He is concerned for your wellbeing and curious about why you reacted as you did."

"I'd like to talk to him if that's okay." Zero told her and she nodded.

"Head for his rooms." She told him. "I'll wake him and tell him you're on your way."

Zero took his time walking towards Dylan's rooms and it took him ten minutes to get there only to find the door into his living room already open and Dylan sitting on a bench by the window wearing a set of combat trousers. Clearly that was all he'd bothered to put on after getting out of bed.

They stared at each other for a moment before Zero had to look away and out of the window behind Dylan. There was a planet there in the distance but it looked like a gas giant so they weren't at risk from people on the surface.

"Are you alright, Zero?" Dylan asked.

Zero almost looked at him but then thought better of it and took to looking at a storm on the surface of the giant. Instead of answering the question he started in on why he'd come to speak to him. "I don't know why I wanted to talk to you and not anyone else." Zero told him. "I mean Harper and I are really close..."

"I spent years as a Captain, Zero." Dylan told him. "I'm used to people coming to me to talk rather than to their friends."

"I _do_ think of you as a friend, Dylan." Zero finally looked at him and saw the momentary flicker of Dylan's eyes as he took in how red Zero's eyes were. "It's not that you're the Captain. It's more because you are as lost in this galaxy as I am."

"The only difference is that I knew another home before this one." Dylan agreed with him. "I'm here for you no matter what happens, Zero. Even if you put yet another virus into my ship."

Zero winced. "I needed time."

"Time for what?" Dylan asked.

"I don't know. To stop panicking?" Zero tried.

"Do you want to talk about that film, Zero?" Dylan asked. "Do you remember something from it?"

"I..." Zero shook his head. "No. I don't."

"You looked like you did." Dylan argued.

"I don't remember _it_." Zero explained. "I am certain that I know that figure though."

Dylan stood up in a single instant and Zero barely restrained himself from taking a step away. "You've seen it before?"

"I don't know." Zero shook his head. "When I saw that thing it was like I was on the edge of remembering my life but I don't remember anything more now than I did before. I think..." He trailed off.

"You think what?" Dylan asked.

"I think that somehow it is involved in how I ended up like this." Zero looked down at the ground feeling tears on his face. Dylan didn't say anything but he moved closer to Zero and put a hand on his shoulder. "Dylan? Am I a good person? Do you keep me here because you trust me or because you need me?"

"Zero." Dylan started and Zero look up at him. "I need you here and I trust you to be here." He answered the question literally. "As for you being a good person you hijacked my ship even though you knew that it would end with you locked up or dead, all to save your family."

Zero studied him seeing the truth in his eyes. "Dylan, I don't want to remember my life."

"What?" Dylan flinched back.

"Dylan, I'm a good person. I'm proud of what I'm doing." Zero stared at him. "What if I was a monster before?"

"You weren't a monster, Zero." Dylan argued back instantly.

"I..." Zero shut his mouth unable to put his feelings into words. "I dream of massacres that have yet to come true. What if those are in my past? What if I'm a monster? I knew that thing that was with the Magog. I know it."

"You don't know it!" Dylan snapped and Zero flinched and Dylan quickly calmed himself.

"Dylan. I don't know what I was but think about it properly. I have always been able to fight and kill people. I have a knack for hacking and viruses and I can see the future. What if that all comes from my past life? You think I would have been a peaceful person?" Zero shut his eyes for a moment before opening them again. "I don't remember anything from before that crash but who's to say I wasn't involved in that being. The first thing that even seems familiar to me is a creature that... that..."

"I know, Zero." Dylan put his hands on Zero's shoulders and Zero crumbled into him. He'd never gotten this close to Dylan before but right now he just wanted to break into a thousand pieces.

"I'm going to program some of Andromeda's nanobots to erase my memory." Zero muttered into Dylan's chest a short while later.

"What?" Dylan asked pushing Zero to arms length.

"I won't be a monster, Dylan." Zero shook his head.

Suddenly the holographic image of Andromeda appeared beside them. "Such an erasing of memories would be complete. I'd have no way to target only the memories from before your currently remembered life."

"I know." Zero nodded. "But if I regain my memories I could be a monster and I don't want to hurt anyone. I don't want to be a monster."

"I can't just wipe your memories." Dylan shook his head.

"You have to, Dylan." Zero demanded. "I like who I am now as screwed up as I am. I don't want to change. If I was a monster than I don't want to remember that. If that happens you have to stop me. Erase my memories or kill me."

"I can't kill you." Dylan shook his head.

"Or have Tyr do it then." Zero demanded. "You can't leave me to suffer like that. I want you to promise me."

"Promise you what?" Dylan demanded in return.

"If I regain my memories and I'm evil you have to hunt me down and either kill me or erase my memories completely. You can't lock me up. I don't want to live if I'm evil like that." Zero suddenly sobbed and tears streamed down his face. "And you can't let me leave when I'm like that. You can't let me do something bad."

"What brings this on?" Dylan asked. "Why are you so convinced that you're evil?"

"I'm not." Zero closed his eyes and wiped at his face. "But I just feel that I was involved with that creature on the film. That I chose to be involved somehow."

"That doesn't mean you were evil, Zero." Dylan tried.

"The dream I had the other night..." Zero looked up at him. "I was standing in front of myself and I told myself that I was the cause of all of what has happened to me."

"That doesn't make you..." Dylan started but Zero cut him off.

"I told myself that I should just kill myself, before I killed all of you." Zero said with a sob. "I can't hurt any of you, Dylan. You have to promise that if one day I try that you'll stop me even if you have to kill me."

Dylan turned to the hologram of Andromeda and Zero saw the anguished look in his eyes but when Dylan turned back he was calm. "I promise I won't let you harm anyone you care about. I'll stop you in that event. But I won't give up on you, Zero. Ever."

"Thank you, Dylan." Zero nodded and suddenly Dylan hugged him again. "Please don't tell Harper or any of the others about this."

"No." Dylan nodded in agreement. "This is between us but Zero...?"

"Yeah?" Zero asked as he pulled away from the larger man.

"I have faith in you." Dylan told him. "You say your instincts tell you that you were involved with that creature but my instincts have never failed me and they all tell me that you were and always will be a good person. I knew that the first time we met. Just before we started that fight and you turned Andromeda's guns on me."

Zero couldn't help but laugh at the mention of their first encounter and Dylan motioned him to a seat at the table where Zero noticed a bowl of fruit and dove in. He hadn't eaten anything in two days. They spent the rest of the morning talking and Zero felt himself relaxing once more but the creature and the promise he'd forced from Dylan weighed heavily in the back of his mind.

He just hoped he never had to deal with either situation.

XOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOX

End Chapter


	9. The Balance of Dreams

Sacrifice

Chapter 9; The Balance of Dreams

**Andromeda Ascendant – Cyrus' Core**

"Dad!" Cyrus' voice was overjoyed as he exploded into existence out of the bright blue world of Cyrus' mainframe. He bounced on his toes before leaping the gap and embracing Zero who complied and hugged him back even though neither of them had the ability to feel touch in this world. Cyrus pulled away and frowned at Zero rather petulantly. "It's been ages! Where have you been?" The boy-looking Artificial Intuitive and Evolving Intelligence actually crossed his arms over his chest.

"I'm sorry." Zero sighed and sat down on the flickering floor of the matrix. Cyrus flopped down opposite him rather ungracefully and crossed his legs under him. "I should have come sooner and I know it's been five days and that's even worse for you than it is me but I've been having to deal with some things."

"Things like what?" Cyrus' expression softened. He trusted Zero not to abandon him.

"We managed to extract the foreign database from Harper's brain and into Andromeda's core and she found quite a few files not in her own database." Zero frowned down at his lap even as he raised his hand and unlocked the key to the hard drive of information he'd taken from Andromeda to give to Cyrus. There was no reason for Cyrus not to have the information too. "That's for you to look at but there's one file there about the Magog invasion of Brandenburg Tor."

"I know that one." Cyrus nodded and scrunched up his face showing he didn't like what the Magog had done there. "The _Maru's_ database updated what _Andromeda_ knew of the planet."

"There's a snapshot there of a being of shadow and fire." Zero sighed and forced himself to open that particular file and play it for them both although he didn't look at it. Cyrus seized control of the file even as it started playing and the image exploded into a thousand different images as Cyrus' unbelievable mental powers broke it up and analysed every little bit of it. Suddenly though Cyrus focused solely on that strange being.

"This thing?" Cyrus frowned and Zero nodded. "I don't understand." Cyrus didn't look too happy at not understanding but he wasn't done yet. "Why are you afraid of it? I can read it in your brainwaves. Have you met it before?"

"I don't remember." Zero shook his head. "But I think I should do."

"Dad?" Cyrus frowned and the file flew off into the distance but Zero could tell he still had Cyrus' undivided attention.

"I saw that the first time and I just knew that somehow it's responsible in some way to how I ended up like this." Zero sighed and looked up into Cyrus' bright blue eyes. "I don't know how I was involved in it."

"It doesn't matter." Cyrus shrugged.

"What do you mean?" Zero asked.

"Before you built me all these parts were just little things here and there. They didn't add up to anything special but now that you've put all of this together and let me grow all those little bits add up to something great." Cyrus told him simply. "It's all part of what makes me what I am. One thing in your life doesn't equal what you are either. It's everything put together that counts."

"And what if everything that I've forgotten put together makes something evil?" Zero asked.

"Good and evil is a matter of choice." Cyrus nodded. "You gave me choice and you've given me the ability to expand unchecked. Why don't you fear me turning that power against you?"

"Because you're good." Zero frowned.

"Because I choose to be good." Cyrus grinned. "Just as you will."

"How do you know?" Zero countered.

"Because you're scared of that thing." Cyrus pointed away behind them.

Zero sighed and stood up slowly and Cyrus bounced up after him. "Uh, Dad?"

"Cyrus?" Zero smiled at Cyrus' innocent look.

"I'm kinda, uh..." The hesitant look was adorable. "Running out of space."

Zero laughed before smiling and reaching out again and another few parts unlocked themselves, opening up a larger playground for Cyrus to grow in. Cyrus' eyes closed as his mind went elsewhere but then they snapped open again. "What's this?" A system burst into view.

"A hardwire to _Andromeda's_ core network." Zero told him. "I'd rather you stayed put for a while but if something happens to me I don't want you stuck alone. She can't detect it unless you power that section of yourself up and I haven't given you instant access to her. You'll have to talk to her if you use it."

"It's okay, Dad." Cyrus hugged him again. "I don't want to use it yet. She's scary."

"Oh?" Zero laughed. "Is she?"

"She's a warship!" Cyrus gasped. "Of course she's scary! And she's huge!"

"You're just a kid, Cyrus." Zero shot him a proud smile. "Trust me, when you venture out there she and the others will all be amazed."

"Not yet." Cyrus bargained.

"Don't worry. I won't ever let anyone hurt you, Cyrus."

"At least this way I can make sure nobody hurts you either." Cyrus nodded. "Though..."

"I'm working on it." Zero smiled, knowing that Cyrus was about to point out his lack of external sensors. Zero wasn't sure how to give Cyrus such eyes without Andromeda noticing.

"Thanks, Dad." Cyrus grinned and vanished on the trail of the new files that Zero had gifted him with. They'd definitely keep him busy for a while. Perhaps even a few days.

XOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOX

**A week later**

Zero spent most of the next week repairing a fraction of the damage done to _Andromeda_ during the battle against the bounty hunter. Harper had claimed Joseph to help him with the damage to the engines and that meant that for most of the day Izus tagged around with him when she wasn't sitting in the observation deck with school work under the careful eyes of Andromeda's holographic personality. It wasn't the first time that Andromeda had played teacher in her long years.

Now though Zero was lying out on his back in one of the service tunnels looking over one of the communications relays that was causing trouble between navigation and the engines. It was pretty high up the list but not massively complicated to repair. Just a short circuit. Izus was sitting next to his feet with instructions not to touch anything but she kept up a chatter when she thought Zero was being too quiet. With everything so different to his earlier four years of captivity he found Izus' presence soothing. Izus wasn't somebody capable of betrayal and he drew strength from that.

"You know, Izus, we're going to have to find out what to do with you and Joseph." Zero spoke up when Izus finished talking about wanting a pet cat.

"Joe says we have to leave but I want to stay with you." Izus grumbled. "Why can't we stay here?"

"Because this is a warship, Izus." Zero sighed. "It's already been in too many battles since you arrived onboard then what I'd want you to go through. It's not safe and I can't stand the thought of anything happening to either you or Joe. You're my family."

"But wouldn't Joe stay here?" Izus asked. "He's a grown up too so why's he got to leave."

"Because he's got to look after you." Zero craned his head up to look at her and she pouted at him rather adorably.

"Why can't you look after me?" Izus demanded.

"I won't tell Joe you said that then?" Zero laughed at Izus' horrified look. He grinned at her. "Dylan, Beka and Harper need me on board. They need a technician and Harper has got too much work to do already. They saved me and this ship let me save the two of you. I can't just turn my back on them after everything they've put up with for me."

"But you'll visit right?" Izus confirmed.

"Of course." Zero nodded. "We were thinking either the Than or the Perseid Home World. They can protect you and both would love to get somebody training to be an engineer like Joseph so he'd be able to support you both and you can go to school and make friends with children your own age."

Izus fell into silence and Zero gave her the time she needed as he got back to work. He knew now was the time to get Joseph and Izus settled down somewhere safer and he'd clung onto them too long already since rescuing them.

XOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOX

**A week later**

Zero winced at the rather stony look on Dylan's face as his door swept open and Dylan gestured for him to enter. "I'm sorry that your mission didn't go brilliantly." Zero told him as he perched on the edge of the counter top in Dylan's kitchen.

"At least the ship's down time meant you could get some headway on the repairs." Dylan shrugged. "And we got the parts we needed."

"And freed a planet from an evil dictator." Zero raised his eyebrows.

"What is it you needed, Zero?" Dylan asked pleasantly. "I know Andromeda's keeping you on a timetable so that you and Harper don't overwork yourselves and I know it's your free time."

"Let me guess before she let me inside she told you to send me off to bed as soon as possible." Zero grinned.

"Something like that." Dylan chuckled.

"This girl of yours is demanding." Zero laughed and surprisingly Andromeda remained silent.

"So is yours, I've heard." Dylan grinned. "A cat?"

"Izus has decided that Trance is her best target for actually getting one." Zero shrugged. "That's actually what I wanted to talk about."

"Getting a cat?" Dylan's eyebrows shot up.

"No..." Zero gave Dylan an 'are you crazy look' before continuing. "Finding somewhere that Joseph and Izus can get settled."

"Somewhere that isn't a warship." Dylan nodded.

"You've got my support, Dylan. I'm not going to go anywhere. I owe you and Beka far too much to turn my back on what you're trying to do here and a little part of me really hopes it's achievable so I'll stick it out but I don't want to see Joe and Izus get hurt in the process and this ship is no place for them. Especially Izus, she needs to go to school, make friends and all of that." Zero told the Captain.

"Any suggestions?" Dylan asked.

"I was thinking either the Than or the Perseids." Zero frowned. "Joe and I have been looking at options and the Than have openings in the ship dockyards. Joe's been really enjoying working with Harper and you know Harper, Joe's already learnt a ridiculous amount from him."

"You know you really don't need my permission for them to leave." Dylan pointed out. "And I'm sure between myself and Beka we can arrange dropping them off. Perhaps a little downtime for all the crew on the Than home world while they get settled."

"I was hoping you could use a little of your recent fame to make sure they're well cared for." Zero winced. "I know that's a little too much to ask but I want them to be safe and happy and..."

"Zero." Dylan stood up and put his hands on Zero's upper arms. "It seems to me that you seem to be single-handedly doing a thousand crewmembers' jobs and you've yet to ask of anything in return. Making sure they're looked after for you is the least I can do. I'll send a message to both the Than and the Perseids and enquire."

Zero grinned at him and Dylan backed away. "I'd better get going before Andromeda sends an android to carry me to my cabin." Zero laughed and ducked out of the room as Dylan sent him on his way.

XOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOX

**In orbit around the Than Home World – Three weeks later**

Zero stared out of the obs-deck viewing window and down at the blue, green and white planet stretched out below them. They'd arrived almost two weeks ago and Dylan had taken the opportunity to get some work done repairing the _Andromeda_ and although Zero had spent most of the time down on the surface with Izus and Joseph he was glad that they hadn't just dropped them off and scampered away even though Tyr was complaining a little bit about being sitting ducks. At least here they had the Than fleet to protect them.

"Zero?" Andromeda's holo-personality appeared beside him. "Are you okay?"

"I'm just going to miss them." Zero sighed.

"I think I understand. You don't have all that many years in your memory and they've been in your life the longest." She nodded.

"Izus only arrived two years before I escaped." Zero nodded. "But Joseph was there from the start. He showed me how to survive. At least this way they'll be safe."

"Unless the Than World is attacked." Andromeda put in helpfully getting an amused glance from Zero.

"They'll survive." Zero smiled at her and reached up to tap his head.

"You've seen it?" Her eyebrows rose up.

"As soon as we made the decision to come here I dreamt of Izus as a woman. Joseph was there and another woman and a young man Izus' age. And a little kid. Izus' I think." Zero smiled out at the planet. "It was nice."

"I'm glad." She nodded. "Did you happen to see if they were in a Commonwealth?"

Zero looked at her and saw her amused expression. "If only I could be that useful."

"Well speaking of useful..." She grinned. "Dylan asked me to tell you that we'll be jumping to Slipstream in ten minutes and would like you on Command Deck. Have you said goodbye?"

"An hour ago." He nodded and turned for the door knowing it would take almost all of the ten minutes to reach Command. "Thanks for the chat, Andromeda." He told her as she flickered out of existence.

XOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOX

**Three days later**

_Zero turned full circle in the starry darkness of space trying to find anything in this vast empty space. He turned for the third time before his view was suddenly completely blocked out by the Andromeda Ascendant. Her engines throbbed in the emptiness of space even though they shouldn't and Zero found himself ducking as her side AP channels swung over his head. He turned to follow her but suddenly out from ahead of her a massive black ship appeared towering over her even though she was millions of cubic metres size. This thing had to be a hundred times her size. She banked up to avoid slamming into it._

_Millions of voices screamed in his head, too many voices shouting to be heard but first one and then more began saying the same thing and the words grew until they were the only thing that Zero could hear. His ears bled at the strength of the words and he cradled his head in his hands. "We are HG."_

_Blinding light burst in front of his eyes. People were screaming and running past him, looking over their shoulders. They were running from skeletons draped in black clothing. A tall tower of iron hung over the city and Zero recognised it from his previous dreams. The tower suddenly turned to dust on a wave of white light that obliterated everyone around him._

"_Zero!" Harper's screams echoes through the tunnels. He was in serious pain and Zero started chasing the sounds of his best friend's screams as they echoed through the tunnels. He ran into a massive chamber with a single pedestal in the centre and on that pedestal was..._

_He screamed, the sound from his throat sounding more like a pained cat than a human's scream. Darkness surrounded him and complete silence. "You're mine, human." A deep voice shook him and he cried out in fear._

"_I can bring them back." A silky voice promised him and he was surrounded by the same skeletons wearing black hooded robes._

_Andromeda hung limp in space, air spewing from holes in the hull and as Zero watched two blasts of dark red energy slammed through her hull, ignoring her weakened defences completely as they tore two holes through her from one side to the other. In the command deck he watched as Trance, Dylan and Beka were blasted by shrapnel. In Harper's tool store he watched as Magog swarmed Tyr and Harper, eating at them as they were dragged to the ground._

"_Dad! They're all down!" Cyrus' image flickered in the middle of one of Andromeda's corridors. "She's trying to kill me, Dad!"_

_Zero roared, a loud roar that shook the walls and sent the Magog screaming in fear. He leapt through Cyrus and after the scent of blood._

_Beka, Dylan and Trance were lying on the ruined command deck. "You're mine. And you're coming straight to me." The deep voice shook his world again. "They can't keep you from me."_

_Trance exploded in a brilliant flash that turned into a supernova that consumed a massive structure of planets tied together by metal._

"Zero!" Zero shot awake and whimpered as the world crashed back around him. He was in med deck. Trance was there. Dylan was there in shorts and t-shirt. Beka ran into the room. Harper caught him as he flew up and held him tightly as he shook in fear and started to lose the battle against his tears. They'd drugged him to get proper sleep again after a few days of constant strange dreams about machines, warring Nietzscheans and dying masses. He was safe though and he turned his face to hide it in Harper's shoulder and clung to him desperately. His mind filled with the flashing images of his friends dying.

"Dylan." Trance's frown was obvious. "We have to find a way of stopping this. It won't be long before this routine starts to impact on his health."

"There's nothing in my database with reference to this sort of ability." Andromeda's voice sounded from one of the personalities. Zero was too busy clinging to Harper to care which.

"Harper, take him back to bed and try to get him to sleep more." Dylan ordered and Zero let himself be pulled up to his feet where he promptly collapsed but Beka and Harper caught him quickly and helped him walk out of the room.

"Just look after him, Harper." Beka ordered as they reached Harper's rooms ten minutes later. "Andromeda, monitor him for his dreams and call Trance immediately."

"Done." Andromeda's voice announced.

"Try to sleep, Zero." Beka told him softly. "You too, Harper."

Zero watched as Beka left the room and shuddered at the image imprinted in his mind of her, Dylan and Trance dead or dying on command deck. He let Harper strip off his jeans and t-shirt and tug him down onto the bed and he silently turned and made use of Harper's chest as a pillow. "Zero?" Harper tried but Zero just shook his head. He felt Harper kiss the back of his head and just let himself be comforted.

XOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOX

**The next morning**

Zero woke from a mess of images that filled his mind, most he recognised from previous dreams but a few gave him new information. Or at least he thought they were supposed to give him more information when in reality they were just jumbled images. Nothing like when Harper had been infected with that database of information and he'd gotten a clear view of the future to come. When he did come around he found himself the object of Harper's undivided attention. The twenty-six year old was sitting cross-legged next to Zero on the bed but seemed to be so deep in thoughts he didn't realise that Zero was looking at him.

"Shay?" Zero whispered making the engineer jerk.

"Zero, you're up." Harper sighed in relief.

"I kept you up?" Zero asked even though he knew it was true. Harper looked exhausted.

"I don't mind." Harper twisted and flopped out beside him on the bed. Zero turned to look at him. "What were you dreaming about, Zero?" Harper asked without looking across at him.

"A lot of things." Zero shrugged one of his shoulders.

"I know it was about us." Harper sighed. "I heard you shouting our names. What's going to happen to us?"

"I..." Zero buried his head in the pillow. "What's the point in telling you? I can't ever seem to stop them from happening."

"Let's forget they're about us this time." Harper turned to face him. "You need to talk about them because you don't have to try to deal with them alone."

"I saw..." Zero frowned and Harper waited him out. "I saw you all dying."

"Dying?" Harper gasped.

"I don't know. Maybe." Zero deflated. "It looked awful but I only see a glimpse. I saw you all hurt, some of you laying as if you were dead."

"How?" Harper asked. "How did it happen?"

"I don't know about them all." Zero shook his head. "I only saw bits and pieces."

"Okay, were any of us fighting something at the time?"

"I saw you and Tyr..." Zero bit his lip.

"Come on, Zero." Harper prompted.

"I saw you and Tyr being swamped by Magog. Too many of them." Zero seemed to break something within himself and he soon found himself telling Harper everything he could remember. About the pain Harper had been in with the Magog larvae in his stomach. Of Dylan, Beka and Trance laying as if dead on command deck. Of the massive matrix of planets around a small sun and even of the vision of a supernova.

Harper stared at him throughout the explanation before nodding and hugging him tightly. Zero breathed out a sigh of relief and set his face down into Harper's chest and shut his eyes. "All crew members to the workshop!" Andromeda screamed and Zero bolted up from the deck where he'd been lying half inside a service panel. He looked around in confusion before scrambling to his feet. One moment he was being cradled in Harper's bed and the next he was in the corridor alone. "Zero! Move it!" Andromeda's hologram appeared in front of him. "Harper's lost it!"

He was sprinting away as fast as he could even before the hologram vanished and it took him only a few minutes to reach Harper's workshop only to find Dylan wrestling with Harper who had a pistol aimed into the air. "Shay!" Zero gasped and Harper turned to look at him and that was all that Dylan needed to disarm him and push him back against the wall.

"I'm sorry, Zero!" Harper backed up along the wall even as Beka and Trance appeared. "I'm not going to let that happen to me. That's worse than death. Better I die right now then go that way!" Before Zero could try to stop him Harper lunged to the side and grabbed his nano-welder. It fired up half way to his head and then there was nothing any of them could do. Zero crumbled into himself as he watched what was left of his best friend's body hit the deck.

He shouldn't have told Harper about them dying in his dreams. This was his fault.

Zero gasped as he shot awake in bed, Harper falling out of bed to his left with a shocked cry. Zero heaved in air before scrambling off of the bed after his best friend and hugging him tightly as he broke down. He wouldn't make that mistake. His dream had shown him what the future would be like if he took that step so he'd never do it.

XOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOX

**The next day**

Zero hummed gently as he fitted the black dome to the top of the console. "What's that for?" Andromeda asked as she appeared as a small four inch hologram on top of Cyrus' console.

"I'm making sure nobody gets to the viruses inside this console." Zero told her. "They're not complete so they're not safe because some of them I probably couldn't reign in and the last thing I need is some idiot tampering with this console and screwing you up in the process."

"Can't ever be too careful." She pointed out before vanishing. Zero finished fixing the device on the top before he jacked into the console to meet with Cyrus.

"Dad!" Cyrus grinned as he appeared.

"Wanna have a look around outside?" Zero asked with a grin.

"Really?" Cyrus asked.

In answer Zero opened an access port and typed in the activation code and let the barrier disintegrate. Cyrus' eyes widened and he found the new hardware that gave him eight different methods of viewing the outside world including audio, visual, infrared and electro-spectrum. "Dad!" Cyrus grinned up at him and leapt at him with a hug even though they couldn't feel it. "So cool!"

"Cool?" Zero laughed. "Where'd you learn that from?"

"Films, Dad, films." Cyrus grinned. "I think I prefer old Earth films. There's this one called Star Wars. You think Harper likes them? I've spent ages watching them. There's millions of them."

"You'll have to ask Harper one day." Zero laughed. "Speaking of which you need to come up with an appearance for when I make you a body."

"Soon?" Cyrus came up short and worried his lip in a surprising display. He looked down at himself in baggy cut off jeans and a blue t-shirt and then reached up and messed with his silver-highlighted brown hair. "Is this alright? Do I look alright?"

"I love the way you look, Cy." Zero smiled. "Honestly if you changed now I'd have trouble linking you. I would in the end but this is perfect already."

"Then can I just have a body that looks like this?" Cyrus asked with a shy smile.

"Did you want one that looks like you're twelve?"

"Oh..." Cyrus frowned. "Would it be better if I looked older?"

"That, Cy, is something you're going to have to work out. Strength and speed wise your body is going to be the same regardless of what age you look like but if you're a child people will treat you like a child." Zero sighed.

"I like being a child." Cyrus frowned. "It makes me feel like I'm _your_ child for real."

"You are my child for real." Zero told him simply and caught his holographic chin with his hand and looked at him pointedly until Cyrus nodded and grinned.

"I want to be a child." Cyrus nodded. "Because that's how I fit in with your life. Maybe not one so young though. Maybe if I look like a fifteen year old human?"

"That sounds fine, Cy." Zero smiled, pleased to see Cyrus come alive at the idea of having a body.

"But...Dad." Cyrus frowned. "It's illegal to make an android that resembles a child of any race. Especially one that looks like flesh like Rommie does. Won't you get into trouble?"

"Law also says it's illegal to create an AI from scratch, let alone an AIEI like you are." Zero pointed out. "There's nothing anyone can do about it now. You can't be deleted because of how you are made. You adapt too fast when you put your mind to it. Provided you don't spend all your time watching old Earth films."

Cyrus grinned at him. "I'll protect you. Always."

"Same goes, Cy." Zero smiled. "Now I need to get away, enjoy a little of the outside world."

"Miss you." Cyrus told him.

XOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOX

"I don't know who you're trying to kid, Zero." Beka snapped when she walked into his workshop later that day just as they dropped out of their Slipstream run. Clearly Tyr or Dylan had piloted this one.

"I don't know what you're talking about." Zero frowned though he had quite a good idea.

"Last night on med-deck? Ring a bell?" She frowned and leaned against his console, stopping him from working.

"I had a bad dream, so?" Zero asked.

"And you haven't said one word about it." She pointed out.

"I don't normally." Zero shrugged. "They're complicated and confusing and most of them don't make any sense until after the event they're about. They're useless. You should have realised that by now."

He flinched as she smacked him over the head. "You are _not_ useless, Zero!" She complained clearly having picked up on the underlying meaning there.

"Still, talking about it isn't going to help." He shook his head.

"Talking might help you though even if we can't change the future." She bargained sounding just like Harper in his dream and he knew how that turned out.

"You know what, Beka?" He stood up, suddenly angry at everything and especially at what fate had handed him. For some reason he was especially pissed off at fate. "You think it's that easy? I've _seen_ what happens if I tell somebody. I'm not going to live through that again. Dreaming about the repercussions was bad enough. I'm not making that mistake twice so butt the hell out!"

She gasped and her eyes shot wide open in shock at being yelled at by Zero. Zero flinched as he realised what he'd done and backed away and ducked his head expecting her to not like his anger directed at her. Instead a hand settled on his shoulder and squeezed.

"Tyr, Beka, Zero. Meet me at cargo bay four immediately." Dylan's voice announced. "We have an uninvited guest."

Zero frowned even as Beka sighed. "We're not done with this, Zero." She warned and Zero winced but at least he'd gotten over his irrational fear of her beating him for what he'd said.

Zero followed her at a run through the ship to the cargo bay just in time to see the doors open and small objects fly inside. He frowned but couldn't remember seeing anything in his dreams leading up to this. He drew his Force Lance and aimed it even as the objects spun around and started joining together until an android of rather haphazard construction stood before them.

"Greetings." It grinned. "My name is Primary Contact Unit HG3."

Zero stared. So maybe his dreams had come to this. Something that called itself HG.

XOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOX

**Two days later**

Zero kept well away from anything to do with HG who was basically an emissary from what the others called the Consensus of Parts. Supposedly it was a grouping of AIs and a collection of machines that drifted in the voids between Galaxies and preyed on normal shipping though they weren't sure what were just rumours and what was truth. They let HG guide them through Slipstream to meet with one of the larger units and Zero had merely told Dylan what he'd seen in his dream. He'd seen the ship and _Andromeda_ together in one of his dreams and to him it had looked like they weren't being friendly but he hadn't seen them attacking one another.

Not long after Andromeda refused to join the Consensus they were attacked both internally and externally. HG's parts overran the ship shutting her down which only coincidentally matched with the time when the Consensus attacked them. Zero stared around at the devastation a few hours after finishing repairs to the rest of the ship. He'd checked to make sure that Cyrus hadn't been hurt when HG's parts had infiltrated the ship and promised Cyrus he'd be back when things were calmer.

The whole ship had been overrun with tendrils of a metallic substance created when HG took over Andromeda's nanobots but even before the end of the fight the ones that had infiltrated Cyrus' console had fried and died away except for one that had given Cyrus a way to fight against the encroaching mass and soon the entire corridor around Zero's workshop was clear of them. If it wasn't for Dylan convincing Zero that HG wasn't being aggressive he would have let Cyrus defeat HG but instead had sent him a coded message through Andromeda telling him to retreat to safety. He didn't want Andromeda spotting him.

Zero plugged into Cyrus' console and emerged in an anxious looking field of holograms. Cyrus looked older than normal and Zero knew he'd adapted to deciding to have a slightly older body when they made it physically. Zero smiled at him and hugged him. "You look good like this." Zero told him.

"I'm almost taller than you." Cyrus frowned. "I didn't think of that. Shouldn't children be shorter. I assessed the databases and this is the average height for a human child of fifteen on Earth before malnutrition affected growth on a large scale."

"I've always been shorter than average." Zero shrugged.

"Should I make myself shorter then?" Cyrus asked.

"You're my son regardless of how tall you are." Zero laughed. "I imagine if I ever had a human fifteen year old son he'd be your height."

"So this is good?" Cyrus grinned.

"It's good." Zero laughed and sat down. Cyrus flopped down in front of him.

"It's a little strange making the image's limbs move normally." Cyrus looked down at his legs as he crossed them. "Takes a little more effort."

"Why do you think teenagers are clumsy?" Zero laughed. "You just have to adapt to it. It'll be good practice before we build you a body to inhabit." Cyrus grinned happily. "I brought you the feeds on what happened over the last few days."

"I didn't like those things in my mainframe." Cyrus made a good impression of a grumbling child. "They tried to overwrite some of the things you and I have written. Was it okay that I countered it?"

"You did brilliantly." Zero told him.

"Did Andromeda notice?" Cyrus asked shyly.

"She noticed that something destroyed the invasion from here but I told her it was just one of the viruses that I stored in this console." Zero shrugged.

"Would you be mad if she realised I was here because of that?" Cyrus looked down at him lap.

"Cy?" Zero asked and the boy looked up. "It'll always be your safety first. Before anything else. Remember that in the future when you make decisions. If you're at risk from anything you can do anything you want to protect yourself."

"Except hurt somebody that doesn't deserve it." Cyrus pointed out.

"And that's what makes you so incredible, Cy." Zero smiled happily. "Scientists spent hundreds of years trying to find the perfect programming to ensure that AIs could defend themselves but not harm people that didn't deserve it. You've managed to work that out on your own. Andromeda's programming for that takes up masses of space. I'm proud of you."

Cyrus beamed. "Can I show you the anti-virus I wrote?"

"Sure." Zero grinned and let Cyrus blow up a massive anti-virus around them. He'd literally written it in seconds from scratch to counter the virus that HG had left behind. It had none of the control features that Zero put into his own but Cyrus made all those control features pointless anyway. They looked it over for a few hours and Zero gave Cyrus pointers to make him turn it into a generic anti-virus in case something similar happened and then got him to store it. They chatted about Andromeda for a while and then Harper and the others and eventually Zero jacked out with a promise of visiting the next day.

XOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOX

**Two weeks later**

Zero stared across the table at Harper as he worked with his upper teeth just biting onto his lower lip as he concentrated on the items on the table in front of them. They'd had another couple of busy weeks but they'd managed to do some serious repairs and since Dylan had ordered him and Harper to take a couple of days to themselves Zero had dragged Harper into his second workshop on the promise of complete secrecy. He'd even mucked with Andromeda's sensors to the room. She could see them in there but she couldn't tell what they were working on and it was going to really irritate her.

Just over a week ago Zero, Harper and Trance had taken the _Maru_ to a drift to make a little money off of extinct oxygen plants and so that Zero could get some parts that the _Andromeda_ needed and when Harper and Trance had vanished from the station he hadn't been all that shocked. He'd dreamt the entire thing the night before they'd arrived so he went about getting a few extra parts that he needed for himself. He didn't have much money but he had a knack for getting what he needed regardless and he was sure nobody would really care that he hacked the station to make sure that he wasn't spotted on security sensors.

Since then they'd had a run in with the Nietzscheans. Or rather Dylan got them dragged slap bang into the middle of power struggles between three different clans and they'd ended up running after Dylan with the _Andromeda_. Zero really hadn't had much to do with either except that he'd dreamt of being chased by drones and not ships and had simply walked onto Command Deck while Beka, Tyr and Harper had been discussing options when they found themselves caught between a few dozen Nietzscheans and a defence satellite network and simply hacked the drones that were imitating the ships chasing them and shut them down much to Beka and Tyr's astonishment and Harper's carefully hidden amusement.

Now though they had a little down time before they continued on and Dylan and Andromeda had ordered Harper and Zero to take some time off from repairing the ship. Personally Zero figured that they were worried about how little rest he seemed to get these days and Zero really wasn't getting more than a couple of hours a night. Every time he slept he'd either catch snippets of events coming up in the next couple of days or he'd get a glance again at the horrific scene he'd witnessed with a supernova and a string of planets almost like a ship. It was either that or the far worse scene of what would happen if he told Harper about him being infected by Magog larvae. Whenever he dreamed of that he'd slip down the hallway and into bed with Harper who'd wake up and simply hold him close. Harper wasn't a fool, he knew that something really bad was about to happen. Hell, everyone on the ship had figured that one out but Zero had snapped at almost everyone when they'd asked so they watched him and they waited.

"This is all for an android." Harper looked up at him. Zero hadn't told him what he wanted Harper's help with before dragging him into the room. "Not just a normal one either. You got these parts specially. They're just as good as what we've put into Rommie. If I didn't know any better I'd think you wanted to make another ship-made-flesh. But there are no other AIs around here."

"Just trust me?" Zero pleaded.

"You want me to make an android to house an AI don't you?" Harper frowned. "What AI?"

"Shay, please?" Zero begged. "If I make it myself I'll do a bad job. I've never built one before and I need your help. Please?"

Harper picked up the shell of the power unit with a hum and turned it over. He looked over the rest with his genius eyes. "Well at least we have everything we need."

"That a yes?" Zero asked. Harper huffed and nodded and Zero couldn't stop himself from jumping the gap and hugging his best friend. "Thank you."

"And I take it this is going to be a secret?" Harper muttered into his ear. "I guess they won't take it well if you've made yourself an illegal AI."

"I..." Zero looked down at his feet.

"So I'm really right?" Harper gasped. "You've made one? From scratch?"

Zero nodded glumly but his head snapped up when Harper laughed. "You're amazing, you know that right?" Zero felt the blood rush to his face and looked down at the component parts spread out around the workshop. "Nobody has created a new AI since the fall of the commonwealth and it used to take months just for basic ones let alone ones like Andromeda. Is it like Andromeda?"

Zero shook his head. "He's smaller. At the moment."

"He?" Harper frowned. "As in it's already sentient?" Zero nodded. "I want to see it."

"You'll have to ask him." Zero shook his head.

"He's in that little console of yours isn't he?" Harper laughed. "The one that fried HG's invasion the other week." Zero nodded. "Can he hear us?"

Zero pointed to the secure feed that sat in the corner of the room. Just like the one in the room next door on top of Cyrus' mainframe. "So he's sentient, powerful and aware of the external world?" Zero nodded again, unwilling to speak. "Can he respond?"

"He's not got access to anything to respond." Zero shook his head. "Only if he uplinks to Andromeda's mainframe and uses something of hers but he's..." Zero bit his lip. "A little shy of Andromeda at the moment."

"She know?" Harper glanced around.

"She can see us but she has no idea what we're talking about or doing in here." Zero shook his head. "And she doesn't know anything about him. She has sub-routines that order her to classify and examine any AI she comes across that isn't registered. Deletion in most cases so I don't want her to know about him yet."

"Okay." Harper nodded before turning to the small black strip against the wall. "So, I'm asking permission to come in and say hi."

"He'll kick you out if he doesn't want you inside." Zero shrugged and led the way into the other room making sure that Harper didn't say anything as they plugged into Cyrus' console and uploaded their consciousnesses into Cyrus' mind.

When they arrived it was to see a completely blank matrix. There was a floor of almost transparent blue but darkness all around them. No signs of any of Cyrus' programs and Zero felt his lips twitch slightly at Cyrus' show of self consciousness. It was like he didn't want himself exposed to the stranger.

"Come on, Cy." Zero smiled and a second later Cyrus appeared as a fifteen year old. He was wearing black jeans and a red t-shirt and his silver streaked brown hair was messed up like it always was. Cyrus brushed his hand down over his hair in a nervous imitation of Zero but didn't make his hair lay flat like he could of if he really wanted. "Cyrus, this is Harper."

"I know." Cyrus nodded. "You gave me his biometrics. He's worried."

"I am not!" Harper complained.

"Shay? This is Cyrus." Zero ignored Harper's complaint.

"You are worried. I can sense it in your brain waves." Cyrus told him. "Why are you worried?"

"Because Zero could get locked up or killed for making an AI." Harper frowned.

"AIEI." Zero corrected quietly.

"What!" Harper gasped. "You made an Artificial Intuitive Evolving Intelligence!"

"Yes." Cyrus declared, straightened up and Zero shot him a small, proud, smile.

"That's theoretical, Zero." Harper turned to him. "And really, really, illegal."

"They can't hurt him." Zero shrugged. "As long as he's got somewhere to run to he can't be deleted. He's too fast and able to adapt."

"Why, Zero?" Harper sighed.

"Because..." Zero frowned and sat down and Cyrus hopped closer and sat right in front of him. Harper wandered around but finally stopped and sagged down next to Zero.

"It's dangerous, Zero."

"Isn't everything right now?" Zero asked. "And he's the perfect person to one day help us out. He overrode HG's interference in three quarters of a second. He can protect Andromeda from intrusions without any effort at all and he's..."

"He's what?" Harper asked.

"I care about him, Shay." Zero smiled over at Cyrus who grinned back. "He's got an amazing array of emotions, just like any other human. He's just like my own kid. If I had one."

"Dylan's going to kill me." Harper huffed.

"You?" Zero asked.

"Yeah, because I'm going to help build him a proper body and everyone loves you too much to tell you off for this." Harper sighed. "So I'll get all the blame."

Cyrus laughed. "Thanks, Uncle Harper!" Cyrus jumped at Harper and hugged him tightly even though they couldn't feel it just like always.

XOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOX

**A week later**

"Zero, how are you doing?" Dylan crouched down low at the entrance to the conduit that Zero was busy working inside. He was trying to fix a set of Andromeda's sensors. He'd already tested all of the sensor nodes but they were all working so it was either wiring or processing. He was about done with the wiring so he'd probably soon be immersed in her core trying to find the problem with the programs.

"Dylan, you look ridiculous cramped up in here." Zero laughed and put the panel back into place before sliding out and sitting on the floor. Dylan laughed and sat next to him. "And I'm doing okay I suppose."

"Not much sleep though I hear." Dylan prompted.

"I think I've sort of worked out my dreams a little." Zero turned to look at him.

"That's good isn't it?" Dylan asked.

"I don't think it really matters. I'm just seeing patterns to them now. Can't control them or even change anything in them." Harry said.

"Have you tried?" Dylan tilted his head.

"No." Zero shook his head. "I never do. I think to but in the end I decide not to."

"The highest version of not being able to change anything. Instead of simply not being able to you don't even choose to." Dylan nodded.

"I get early warning and because of the warnings I am ready to do something that I've already dreamt of doing." Zero explained.

"And the patterns?" Dylan asked.

"Well there's two types of vision I think." Zero started. "Either dreams about the near future that I see once, perhaps a day or so before the event but then I think if there's something really big coming up I see it earlier. As if the ripple goes back further or something. For example that Nova bomb you've got stored away that you haven't told anyone about?"

Dylan's eyes widened again, he'd forgotten that Zero had known about it clearly. "What about it?"

"I told you that I thought you'd use it and on occasion for the last few weeks I've seen a massive supernova." Zero shrugged.

"How do you know they're not just dreams?"

"I can tell when I'm having an actual vision and when it's a dream or nightmare." Zero shrugged. "It's like an instinct."

"So you think some of them are just nightmares?" Dylan prompted.

"Yeah. Sometimes I get just copies of the visions I've seen but also memories." Zero frowned. "I think."

"What do you mean? You're own forgotten ones?"

"I think some of them are." Zero frowned. "Sometimes I get scenes that come up in the middle of visions but have yet to come true. Some I've had ever since this started when I boarded the _Maru_."

"So some of the things don't seem to tell about the future and have nothing to do with what's happening and what you've seen so you think they must be latent memories." Dylan summed up. "What are some of them about?"

"Death." Zero sighed. "All of them that I've seen are about death. Massacres and war. I've seen only one thing that Andromeda could place and that was a tower on Earth that was destroyed hundreds of years before Earth joined the Commonwealth. I don't get why I'm seeing it though. It's come back on a few occasions but not always the same dream." Zero shook his head. He was starting to confuse himself.

"You'll work it out eventually." Dylan smiled at him.

"I don't think I will." Zero shook his head. "Maybe the answer is in what I forgot but then when I think about that I think about how strongly I think I was somehow involved with that creature made of darkness and fire. Did I have anything to do with Earth and if I did why am I seeing scenes from thousands of years ago and not scenes like Harper grew up around? It just doesn't make any sense."

"Okay." Dylan stood up. "_We'll_ work it out then."

Zero just watched him with a small smile tugging at his lips. Dylan smiled back and told him to take care of himself before he slipped away.

XOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOX

**That night**

"Andromeda?" Zero asked as he walked onto Command Deck. Tyr turned to look at him but he didn't look all that surprised to see him so Andromeda had probably already reported his movements to Tyr. Then again it was Tyr so he wasn't likely to have shown his surprise even if he didn't know what was happening. It was the middle of the night and just like always either Dylan, Beka or Tyr were on Command Deck in case something happened. Not that Andromeda couldn't have made the decisions that they would in an emergency but Dylan was stuck in the old ways and that meant manning Command Deck at all times. Rev occasionally took a watch and even Trance but Harper and Zero were never included in the rotas, not because they weren't capable of it but because they worked flat out during the days anyway.

Andromeda appeared on the centre screen and raised an eyebrow at him. Zero glanced down at himself and his naked chest but simply shrugged. "What can I do for you, Zero?" She asked.

Zero hopped up onto one of the railings and balanced effortlessly. Tyr slouched back into the pilot's chair and reopened his book as if to ignore him completely. Tyr and Zero got along better now and Zero was able to easily ignore the fact he was Neitzschean and just Tyr instead. That was unless Tyr snuck up on him and then he wasn't able to hide his reaction but Tyr tried not to do that whenever possible.

"I had a vision." He saw Tyr glance up briefly before returning to his book. Tyr had been the last to be convinced about his visions being real but even Tyr couldn't deny that Zero ended up knowing events before they could happen. "How many classes of battleship did the Commonwealth have?"

"Four thousand, seven hundred and ninety-two warship classes have been part of the Commonwealth." She told him.

"Okay, how many of those classes were in service at the same time as the Glorious Heritage class?" He asked.

Her eyebrows rose to show she'd noticed her own class in that question. "Seventeen." She told him.

"Larger than you?" Zero asked.

"Three." She didn't sound happy about that at all and Zero smirked even as Tyr chuckled.

"Display?" Zero half asked.

Three images appeared on the ship, structural diagrams rather than actual images but he spotted the one he wanted easily. It looked like a five pointed star with two of the points horizontal, one directly below and two over the top, all curved forwards as if it was going to surround and trap its target. He pointed at it and Andromeda expanded it and replaced it with an actual image. It was a dark red colour and exactly what he'd seen Andromeda fighting in his dream. Fighting and losing against.

"A Siege Perilous Class Destroyer. A Deep Stand-Off Attack ship." She informed them. "One of the most powerful ships created by the Commonwealth for fleet and planet pacification. Eight were made and in service at the time of the Fall."

"Care to explain?" Tyr asked showing he was paying attention.

"I saw one of them amongst a fleet of ships, including three Glorious Heritage Class ships. Not you though I don't think." Zero shook his head. "I think it was a glimpse back into the past. Then I saw one on its own destroying small fleets of ships that were attacking cargo ships."

"Pirates." Tyr scoffed.

"And then _it_ was attacking the cargo ships." Zero frowned. "And then I saw it attacking you. And you weren't fighting back."

"Is there anything else, Zero?" She asked after a moment. The image on the screen vanished. Zero shook his head. "Go back and try to sleep some more. I'll wake the Captain and explain what you saw so he's warned."

Zero nodded but decided he'd go curl up with Harper rather than returning to his own bed. He always got back to sleep easier next to his friend.

XOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOX

**Later the next day**

Zero frowned across the room at the 'man' they'd picked up when a Restorian Destroyer had attacked and destroyed a passenger ship. They'd gotten there in time to witness the destruction of the civilian ship and destroy the Rester when it had turned on them as well but only been able to pick up a single escape pod with a single android teacher inside. When they'd realised that Trance couldn't help check him over they'd called in Harper and Zero. Harper had looked him over physically but the man, Gabriel, had refused to allow Zero to look at him, even non-intrusively. Zero couldn't really say that was cause for suspicion though since it was a matter of privacy.

Zero couldn't really say why he was suspicious only that it was so strange to see such a perfect AI walking around in this day and age when parts were so expensive and rare. An android like this would be worth far more as scrap parts than as a teacher and scholar. Either he'd had a very powerful person looking after him or he was simply very lucky. Or he had fighting abilities that weren't usual software, or hardware for that matter. Just like you couldn't program a standalone computer to fight you couldn't take a normal android and make it do anything remotely like fighting.

Zero glanced at where Rommie was watching and saw her staring at Gabriel and decided it would be best to keep a close eye on her too. By the way Gabriel was looking at her they were both going to be rather distracted.

XOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOX

**The next day**

Zero watched as Andromeda's systems displayed the threat for them in such fine detail. They'd hunted down another Rester Destroyer in the hunt for the cell that was operating in this area only for one of the three Free Trade Alliance enforcers that had allied with them to be destroyed by a long range missile. Andromeda had turned her sensors on the trail and traced it right back into deep space and now sitting on the screen, unmoving because it knew how dangerous it was, was the ship from Zero's latest vision. It sent chills up Zero's spine as he saw something that so completely outmatched even Andromeda at the height of her power. Sure Andromeda was fast and powerful but she'd take a massive amount of damage just trying to get into range of that thing.

Everyone turned to look at him and he knew that Andromeda had reported his vision to them all. How much more proof did they need that he was strange? At least this time they'd all been able to look up the ship before they'd met it and strangely enough nobody was shocked to see it appear before them. Zero and Cyrus had even spent the morning running simulations, putting Andromeda up against it in different scenarios. Only one scenario had ended with their own survival and its defeat and the amount of damage to Andromeda had been irreparable.

XOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOX

_Zero uncurled from the rocky ground he was lying on and rose slowly to his feet. He was standing at the edge of a massive cavern and across from him, standing on a pillar, was the figure of fire and darkness. This time though he knew it was staring at him._

"_You're mine!" Two voices echoed through his mind and pain exploded in his forehead. The scene became a field covered in massacred bodies. He could feel the blood sloshing around his feet. There were thousands of bodies all around him and a figure of shadow in front of him. So similar, yet completely different to the figure of fire and darkness, so much weaker yet it filled him with terror anyway. The figure of shadow flicked a shadowy limb at him and pain sliced across his chest in a diagonal line and he screamed, his scream lost in the massacre of bodies around him. The figure lifted the limb again and Zero's vision was blocked by a bright burst of sickly green light._

_Flames overtook the green light and then Zero could feel the heat burning across his skin and then he was watching a supernova race towards him. He braced himself and turned his back only to find himself in darkness once again. Empty and silent. He looked down to find out what he was standing on only to see stars and then for some reason turned to look behind him, expecting to see more stars only to find himself staring at a massive ship. The Balance of Judgement._

_Zero took a step back but before he could really get anywhere the ship was changing shape, shrinking until a man stood before him. Gabriel._

Zero cried out as he fell forwards. He'd been sleeping at his computer console in his workshop in the middle of the day. "Is that what it's like?" A voice made him leap up with a shocked gasp. Right in front of him stood Gabriel with a slightly confused look on his face. Zero backed away from him but he already knew he'd never get his weapon up fast enough against the android. Especially not a Ship-made-flesh.

"Andromeda!" He hissed out.

"I disabled this compartment from her sensors." Gabriel frowned. "What did you see in your vision? Andromeda told me about you seeing the Balance of Judgement days ago and I'm curious as to what else you've seen."

"You're it!" Zero hissed. "Ship-made-flesh."

"You saw that?" Gabriel asked. "You're bleeding though. Why is that?"

Zero gasped and looked down at himself. Blood cut across his front, soaking into his t-shirt. His scar across his chest had opened up during his dream. At the same time as that shadowy figure in his vision had done it to him. He restrained himself and looked back up to Gabriel to find the android mere inches from him. "He doesn't want you around but I'm not programmed to kill. I can do this to you though."

Zero opened his mouth to try to get the nearest working sensor to hear him but Gabriel grabbed his throat. The pressure was unbelievable but he knew that Gabriel couldn't snap his neck without breaking his programming. Zero was crew on a High Guard ship and he couldn't authorise killing Zero without a Captain's authorised even if his ship could destroy them all without it. Zero tried to suck in air but nothing could get past the tight grip that the android had over his windpipe.

"Cy..." He managed to breathe out before his vision blurred and his chest screamed in pain as his lungs struggled to draw in air. He went numb and then everything went dark.

XOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOX

_Zero stared across the darkness at the figure of fire and shadow. He'd been standing in darkness listening to distant sounds of a battle but then slowly he'd started seeing the figure in the distance. It reached for him with a cry and pain blossomed through his entire body yet something made him take a step towards it. Walking across the void he was standing over. It moved towards him and he took another step without being able to stop himself. Then another._

_Something bright appeared within the darkness to his right, tendrils of light reaching out and around them both. Except it was reaching to embrace him but across in front of the figure of fire and darkness. The bright light was warm and gentle as it wrapped around him but he heard a cry of anger from the figure of fire and shadow._

"_Be gone, God of the Abyss!" A voice commanded from the midst of the light and the darkness vanished completely leaving Zero in a void of white instead of the normal darkness. There was no warm presence any more. Just himself surrounded by absolute nothingness._

Zero's eyes cracked open to find three faces looking down at him. Harper, Trance and Dylan. He blinked at them and shuddered and felt the pain in his chest. He tried to sit up but Harper and Dylan pushed him back gently.

"You reopened the scar across your chest." Dylan told him. "We don't know how."

Zero swallowed and it felt like something was burning its way down his throat. "You've got bruising to your larynx as well." Trance told him. "Andromeda's nanobots are working on both but it took a while before we could get them working."

"What...?" Zero managed to get out.

"What happened?" Dylan guessed.

"That git, Gabriel, attacked you." Harper spat. "Blocked Andromeda's sensors and strangled you. The backup system on your standalone called me through my databoard."

Zero closed his eyes. Cyrus had witnessed the whole thing with his own sensors, hacked through the connection to Andromeda without her noticing and then hijacked Harper's databoard to raise the alarm. Zero felt a smile tug at his lips at Cyrus' actions before he opened his eyes again.

"You had a vision that Gabriel was the Balance of Judgement's AI?" Dylan asked. Zero nodded. "He uploaded a virus into Andromeda through Rommie and left her a sitting duck when the Balance attacked."

"But it's all okay now." Trance interjected. "We destroyed the Balance of Judgement so you can rest easy until you're fully healed." She shot the two men a glance and Dylan nodded. He reached down and touched Zero on the shoulder before nodding again and slipping out of the room. Zero reached across and grabbed Harper's hand before the other man could leave and Trance slipped away silently. Harper perched himself on the edge of the table and Zero wiggled a little to move sideways.

Harper frowned before getting more comfortable, sitting cross-legged on the bed. Zero tried to speak but it hurt too much at the moment so he touched his dataport and then Harper's. Harper's eyebrows shot up but he jumped off the bed and moved across to where his databoard was sitting on a table. He was back in seconds with his two metre cable and offered the end to Zero. Zero smiled at the sign of trust and slipped it into his neck. Harper copied the motion directly linking their minds and Zero's world blurred and then slipped away completely. Andromeda would monitor their bodies just like she always did when they were jacked into something.

In this state they were linked mind to mind and you had to be careful not to affect the area around you if it wasn't your own mind. Both of their dataports were capable of housing the consciousness of the other and Harper wasn't actually inside his brain but only in a matrix that Zero controlled. Harper could hack into Zero's brain from here but Zero knew he wouldn't. Plus he would have to get through Zero's defensive software and offensive viruses first.

"Are you okay, Zero?" Harper asked.

Zero glanced around at the blue holographic floor and walls around them before looking back at Harper. "I'm confused, Shay." Zero sighed.

"What's the matter?" Harper asked. "Is it about Gabriel?"

Zero shook his head and pointed to his own chest which was as bare as the real one. The nanobots had already closed the wound and repaired most of the internal tissue once more and although it would still leave a small scar it would be better than it had been before. "I think I know how I got this." Zero told him quietly.

"What?" Harper gasped. "You haven't remembered have you?" It was more a statement than a question.

"It was in the same dream that I saw Gabriel and the Balance as one." Zero told him. "I've seen it over and over."

"Show me." Harper ordered.

Zero winced but this was half the reason he'd brought Harper in here. "Are you sure? It's not nice."

"Show me, Zero." Harper was pleading this time. He wanted to help, no matter what.

Zero sighed and focused on the stored memory of the massacre he had witnessed so many times in his mind. It formed into a file in front of him and Zero tapped it and let it explode and take up the matrix around them. Zero froze it instantly, not wanting it to actually play out. At least not yet. Harper had gone extremely pale and his eyes were flicking backwards and forwards all around him at all the bodies heaped around. So many that it would be almost impossible to walk around them all.

"What could do this sort of thing!" Harper gasped. He swallowed as if he was about to throw up as he eyed a body melted from the neck down, the body's eyes wide open in terror.

"I don't know." Zero shook his head. "I never see what kills all of them. It's always just me and sometimes him."

"Him?" Harper frowned looking around before taking a step away from the shadowy figure standing opposite Zero. He hadn't been there the first time he'd looked around. Zero had removed him from the memory temporarily.

"What the hell is that?" Harper gasped.

"I don't know if that's a real representation." Zero told him faintly. "Sometimes my visions are more metaphorical than factual."

"That thing is creepy, Zero." Harper told him, moving closer to his side.

"Sometimes it laughs at me." Zero told him. "Other times it just makes this bright green light. This time though it did this." Zero released the memory and Harper watched as Zero stepped away from the image of himself just as the figure raised his arm and the slash appeared deep across Zero's chest, spraying blood even though the image that Zero had left in his place was a mere outline since Zero's memory didn't include what he looked like. The memory continued as the figure lashed out with his limb again and green light flooded the matrix and then the bright fire. At least in this memory it didn't burn him.

Harper turned to him as soon as the matrix reset and swallowed thickly. "So you were there?" Harper asked. "Somewhere in your past you were in this massacre and that thing gave you that scar." Zero could only nod, feeling sick.

"I felt that this massacre was somehow related to me. In the past and not a vision of the future like the others." Zero sighed.

"Do you think it's a memory coming back?" Harper asked.

Zero shook his head. "I see it in my nightmares but only since seeing it in visions. It blends in with other visions. I don't dream about visions and nightmares at the same time. It's either one or the other."

Harper moved towards him as if to hug him before stopping short. Zero smiled and tapped the side of his neck and a second later Harper vanished from inside his dataport and Zero concentrated on cutting his own link. He barely managed to unplug the cable before Harper was pulling him into a hug. Zero sighed and relaxed into the hug, glad that Harper wasn't changing his opinion of him based on that massacre.

Somewhere along the line Trance had left them alone and it wasn't long before Harper was helping Zero sit up so that he could sit against the headboard and let Zero lean back between his legs with his head on Harper's chest. Zero let himself feel safe and it wasn't long before he started to fall asleep listening to Harper talk about his projects.

XOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOX

**End Chapter**


	10. The Abyss

Sacrifice

Chapter 10; The Abyss

**Andromeda Ascendant**

Zero blinked his eyes groggily as he came awake. He groaned a little when he felt bare skin under his cheek and it was becoming more familiar with each morning he woke up cuddled up to Harper. Yet again he'd dreamt nightmares of his latest visions and Harper had already been there when he'd come around, brought to him by a concerned Andromeda.

His mind seemed to be fixated on replaying just a few visions over and over again. He always seemed to add in massacres that he believed were in his own past and they gave him a colourful mix to the visions of the future. Of Andromeda in a serious state of disrepair, of Harper being infested by Magog Larvae, of Trance, Dylan and Beka on the floor of the command deck, dead or dying and every time his nightmares flared out with a huge ball of burning gas, a supernova.

And whenever he woke up to see his concerned friends he contemplated telling them every detail he could about his dreams but then he'd always remember the vision of Harper taking a laser welder to his head and that graphic image always held him back. Even for somebody with very little knowledge or experience of his past he knew that he couldn't give out knowledge instantly all the time without eventual repercussions.

"You okay, Zero?" Harper whispered and Zero flinched, having not realised that his bed mate was awake. He nodded with a sigh and sat up, rubbing at his eyes. He glanced at the datapad on his bedside table and knew there was an ever growing list on there of things he needed to get done that Andromeda, Harper and himself were constantly adding to and prioritising. "It's still early. Can you get back to sleep?"

Zero shook his head again and swallowed reflexively against the feeling in his throat. He still always felt strange forming words, especially after sleeping. Almost like he had to force himself to do it the first time to prove it was possible. Harper had gotten used to rather one sided conversations first thing in the morning, especially since Zero woke up with Harper almost every other night at least.

"I'm going to go to my lab for an hour or so." Zero decided and Harper knew that he meant a visit to see Cyrus. They were both careful not to mention him outside of Zero's inner lab where Cyrus' body was being kept as they completed the finishing touches. It was taking quite some time because of the rest of their work load and had been put almost completely on hold in the latest situation when Beka had gone off the deep end a little and taken control of the ship, determined to prove that she could slipstream the ship to the homeworld of the old Commonwealth, Tarn Vedra, as a gift to Dylan on his birthday. It had been impossible to do and she'd done serious damage to the ship while under the influence of a drug called Flash.

"Are you going to stay in the same place as Beka today?" Harper asked with an amused tone although Zero knew he was actually concerned about the situation. Zero turned to him and dropped his head a little in shame. Harper sighed and sat up and pulled Zero into a gentle hug. "She's letting you keep your distance because we all know what's put you out."

She'd treated everyone badly during her drug influenced rage but some of the things she'd said to Zero before she could stop herself had hit him deep through the heart and they'd put him seriously off kilter when it came to dealing with her. He'd learnt to trust that she wouldn't discard him but that had been thrown into question in his head and that worried him.

"I'll try." Zero whispered when Harper drew back. Harper smiled before leaning forwards and resting his forehead against Zero's.

"Hour after we both finish work." Harper told him simply, meaning Cyrus' body. "If we're not too tired." Zero nodded in agreement with a smile before sliding out of the warm bed and heading to shower and dress so he could go down and talk to Cyrus for an hour before he had to show with the rest of the crew and get some work done around the ship.

XOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOX

**That evening**

After working with Harper over Cyrus' new outer skin he simply sat next to the robotic body for a while after Harper left. He knew that Cyrus could see him sitting there but it almost felt like he was sitting at his son's bedside when he was ill. To be honest seeing a lifeless robotic body on the slab-like table made him feel a little ill except that he knew that Cyrus' body was almost completely ready. Physically it was intact and capable of operating and Harper's presence today had just been to support Zero in readying the immense internal memory and hardware to accept Cyrus' entire capacity. Once Cyrus was ready he could be transferred into the body and leave nothing of himself in the standalone computer and then Cyrus would be free to do anything he wanted.

Harper had already admitted that simply because Cyrus wasn't based off of any other AI template in history that he'd be almost impossible to interfere with. Only Zero knew enough about him to do any damage and even then Cyrus was well beyond any other AI. He was the first Artificial Intuitive Evolving Intelligence and that put him about other AIs just like Andromeda, as a warship, was above other more basic AIs.

Zero looked down over the sheet that covered Cyrus' naked body. He'd gone with a sixteen or seventeen year old body and Harper had promised that in a few years, if Cyrus wanted, they could build him a new body in the image of an adult. They'd decided that since Cyrus wanted a teenager's body they would give him one as accurate as possible. Cyrus had a complete emotional spectrum, learnt rather than embedded within him, and it was only right that his body was as human as possible so he could experience life to its fullest. Every detail had been carefully thought through, even down to genitalia. To much blushing from Harper and Zero and curiosity from Cyrus they had recreated every bodily reaction to touch and emotion. Cyrus would experience life through the body of a teenager and not a mechanical vessel like Rommie's. He would feel pleasure if he was hugged or if somebody stroked the skin on his neck, or kissed his cheek.

And his body would react just like a human's to pleasure and arousal. He'd be able to experience what every other teenager learnt to experience in the privacy of their bedrooms and when he was ready he'd be able to experience sexual activities with someone. It was a work of genius on their parts and a lot of time and patience had gone into making Cyrus' body as realistic as either of theirs. The only inaccuracy in Cyrus' body was that his genitalia was at an equal size to most well-endowed adults. Zero and Harper had gotten over their embarrassment when they'd had that conversation.

Zero had been worrying constantly lately though. It got worse as the reality of giving Cyrus a body became more real. As just a program, albeit a ridiculously sophisticated one, Cyrus was easier to hide. But once Cyrus took to his new body there would be no hiding him from the crew of the Andromeda Ascendant anymore. And then Zero would stand right next to his son's shoulder and take any criticism that came his way. He'd stand by Cyrus to the end because he loved him, not just as his creation but as a life form all of his own. He wanted the rest of the crew to accept Cyrus into their midst just like they'd done for him.

And he already knew that if they tried to hurt Cyrus, or simply turned him out because of what he was, that he'd go with Cyrus. He didn't want to because the crew of the Andromeda Ascendant were his family just as much as Joseph and Izus were.

_Bright light flared in front of his eyes, bleeding through his body as if it wanted to rip first the skin, then the flesh off of his bones and then incinerate those, all within a second. Fires raged around him and he moved through them all with a deadly grace even as he heard Magog screaming all around him. Then a scream so much louder than all the rest, but it wasn't one of pain but one of fury and a promise of retribution. It vibrated through his body even as the bright flare of light faded away._

_He was standing in the medical bay looking down at a peacefully sleeping Harper. He wore white hospital shifts marred only by a blue patch on his neck connected to a reservoir on his chest. His eyes were drawn to Harper's abdomen where he could feel the evil hiding away._

_A laser welder came up against Harper's head._

_Dark tunnels spread in every direction and shadows flitted through them all, travelling in every direction. Hundreds, thousands, millions. More Magog then he could have ever imagined moving, fighting, eating, screaming, killing. Billions of them. Trillions._

_A galaxy spread out from him in every direction but he knew it wasn't his own. Billions of solar systems and millions of habited worlds. His eyes snapped around as something blotted out one of the stars. It flared brightly and winked out. And then another, and another. Soon they were blinking off so fast he couldn't keep track. Then there was nothing but the huge black hole swirling in the centre of the galaxy, slowly drawing in the remains of billions of annihilated solar systems and millions of civilisations. Something started to appear in front of him, growing clearer as it approached him. It grew until he spotted a small star glowing fiercely in the centre and then that cast the silhouette of the rest of the structure. A score of planets strung together into a sphere around a sun. Lethal, deadly and fuelled by a hunger and fury that he knew would never be sated._

"_Dad!" Cyrus called to him as the chanting continued. "I have the external weapons but she's trying to kill me!" Cyrus looked pale and scared. His hologram floating in the middle of the room where Cyrus was panting in exhaustion with the bodies of Magog all around him. Cyrus frowned and knew he had to do something to help his son. Give him some time to get the internal defences back online._

_He was standing in the middle of one of Andromeda's many corridors, the trail of dead Magog were an easy trail to follow. Cyrus walked next to him, his hands were bloody and Magog blood stained the clothing Zero had hastily given him. They turned the corner and found the busted door and the score of dead Magog inside the room. "They were here." Cyrus told him. "I can smell their blood." Cyrus winced. "Dad… I… I don't think they survived." Cyrus saw read and a vicious growl surged up through his vocal chords and something lethal and powerful flooded out from the middle of his chest. _

_Command Deck was full of debris and sparking consoles and in the middle, not breathing was Trance and Dylan and as he watched Beka tried to rise only to fall onto her back again. "Code Red!" Andromeda called from the front screens and the words echoed through the empty corridors. They were alone. "Code Red! Officers down on the Command Deck!"_

"_You're mine." A deep voice vibrated through his body even as the chains around his neck held him down. The Magog shakily holding him down were heavy enough that he couldn't fight them like this. He snarled, his claws digging deep into the ground. "There is no fight left in you. You are a discarded toy from an ancient playground. I can make you into something great. Join me."_

_It screamed in a torrent of fire and shadows as bright white light burst from around him. It spiralled around him like a tornado, wiping Magog away from him and into the depths of the cavern around him. It leapt away from him like a fire of its own, burning Magog into ashes. Fire and Darkness clashed against him and he was thrown into darkness, nothing compared to its might._

_He hung in darkness above the quickly spinning planet Earth. He watched as magnificent ships came and went, as cities grew ever larger, as huge orbitals were constructed and decommissioned. "I made an agreement." He heard himself say._

"_We will not permit you to join him willingly." A voice flooded through him._

"_How can I prove myself if I don't know what is happening?" He found himself asking in return._

_Everything was dark again before he saw Dylan standing in front of him. "If this is true…" Dylan told him and he spotted that same Galaxy destroying world ship approaching from behind him. "If this is true then you and I are one and the same. This is our enemy and for everyone's sake it has to be destroyed."_

_Zero's feet were caked in mud and blood as he stood in the middle of a massacre of bodies, torn and rendered into nothing he could recognise. Across from him stood a shadowy figure, cloaked in black. Between them were the bodies of Harper, Cyrus, Beka, Trance, Dylan, Rev, Rommie and even Tyr, all lifeless. "Some evils just can't be defeated." He muttered to himself before looking up at the figure opposite him. The figure raised his hands and pulled away the cloak and Zero's swallowed down bile at the sight of a blood covered copy of himself staring back at him as if he was just a mirror image. He looked down at his own identical form and felt sick to the stomach._

_What was he going to become?_

"Intruder Alert!" Andromeda's voice made him startle awake and his head came up from Cyrus' bare chest as he looked around in surprise. "Intruder Alert." He shook his head and looked around the inner room of his lab. That had to have been the worse vision he'd ever had and what scared him was that he could still feel it burning at his heart, especially the last part.

He frowned and stood up and headed for the door knowing that Andromeda couldn't detect him in this compartment. He walked out into his main lab and grabbed his Force Lance from a side counter as he moved across the room. The ship's warnings continued to go off and he was about to turn for the door when the light at the side flicked from green to red to show it had locked.

"Andromeda?" He frowned.

"Intruder! Identify yourself." She demanded from her holographic appearance as it flickered into existence in the middle of the room. He frowned at her appearance, she normally wore black these days since Commonwealth Uniforms were a little out-dated even for a ship but now she was back in the dark red uniform from the Commonwealth High Guard.

"Andromeda, it's me, Zero." He frowned again as he moved to one of his networked computers to try to get a report. He only just reached it before her image appeared on the screen, blocking him from accessing it.

"I know of no person named Zero." She declared. "Is that a designation?"

"You know it is!" He countered. "It's the second to last number of my slave designation."

"There are no slaves in the Commonwealth." She told him simply.

"There is no Commonwealth." He frowned even as his mind went through possibilities. It almost seemed like some backup file of her memories had been activated and had left her somewhere hundreds of years ago. Which meant any knowledge of himself, Beka, Harper, Rev, Trance and Tyr were gone. Even Dylan most likely.

"What is your name and authorisation number?" She demanded. "This is your last warning."

"I don't know my name." He told her. "Dylan gave me an authorisation code. Charlie-two-echo-one-five but if you don't know me then you don't know that code."

"How do you not know your name?" She demanded.

"I have complete amnesia dating back from when I was eighteen." He told her quickly. "Use your nano-bots to verify."

"That is irrelevant." She declared. "You are part of the intruding forces onboard this ship. What is your mission and where are my crew?"

"I am one of your crew!" He argued.

"Why have you blocked my sensors inside the compartment you were in?" She demanded harshly. "What sabotage have you committed?"

"I haven't done anything!" He tried to promise.

"My drones are on the way. They will investigate." She declared. "You will be stopped from doing further damage to my internal systems."

He heard the whine and that was all the warning he needed. He dove to the side behind a few of the computer terminals even as the internal defence node in the middle of the room spun and fired two smart rounds at him. They slammed through terminals, sending up sparks and smoke.

He had to get to his other room, away from the defences so he could work on shutting her down and finding out what was happening. He dove to the side and made a break for the exit, taking cover as the defences whined again and fired.

His chest went cold and his body tight even as he heard the explosion of smart bullets against computers and he turned in horror dreading what he might see only for the reality to be far worse. He collapsed to his knees with a gasp of pure emotional pain. There in the middle right of Cyrus' core terminal was a gaping hole that had blasted its way right through the console. Sparks flickered across the surface and the chewed up data nodes and memory banks. His son, his Cyrus…

"No…" He gasped as his vision swam. He felt cold and hollow. He barely heard the next whine of a weapon powering up but he flattened himself all the same and crawled quickly towards the door to the internal lab so she couldn't keep track of him. He had to dodge a few more times before he could roll inside and hit the door close behind him. He sagged onto the floor and heaved up what little he had in his stomach. He felt the tightness of pain and loss spread through his body.

He hauled himself up and to the slab in the middle of the room and Cyrus' superfluous body and collapsed against it. His head fell onto almost real skin and tears fell. He didn't care about the time it had taken to create and nurture Cyrus. He cared about the fact he'd loved Cyrus like his son and he'd known Cyrus had loved him. He'd looked forwards to having Cyrus walking around the ship with him, being his family, like nothing he'd ever wanted more. Now he felt like he'd taken the blast to his own chest that had in fact gutted everything that was Cyrus. He knew he'd never be able to recover Cyrus from that mess of computers. Cyrus had been unique, something that couldn't be copied or even rebuilt. Cyrus was lost. Dead. And a large part of Zero had gone with him.

He gritted his teeth against the surge of anger within him. He'd seen Cyrus in his dreams, in a fight that had yet to happen. He'd been helping them, he'd been alive. He'd called him Dad. His dreams, always useless, had proven to be as substantial as smoke. He'd seen no warning about intruder alerts and no warning that could have allowed him to save Cyrus. Somewhere in his past a floating voice over Earth had told him that he'd have to prove himself and he knew deep within him that his visions were part of that. Well as far as he was concerned they could shove whatever expectations they had of him up their arses.

He might not have been able to blame them for anything else he'd lost in the world but he could blame them for losing Cyrus. His visions weren't a gift, they were a curse and he wanted nothing to do with either them or whatever was behind them. Evil or Good.

Without Cyrus…

He gasped as arms came up around him and the body moved beneath him. He threw his head back, followed by his torso and found himself staring eye to eye with Cyrus' android body. He swallowed but he knew it couldn't be _his_ Cyrus.

"Dad?" The mouth moved and it was an exact replica of Cyrus' voice. "Dad?"

"Cyrus?" He gasped out, wiping at his eyes. "You're not… I saw the console."

"I knew remaining there would be dangerous. As soon as she powered up the defences I transferred out of my console through the hard line and into my body." Cyrus told him before reaching up with new hands to trace Zero's jaws and cheeks. "Dad, am I alive?"

Cyrus nodded, not trusting his voice right now. "Dad? Did I do good?"

"Yeah, Cy." Zero smiled. "You did real good." Zero straightened up and pulled Cyrus into a tight hug which Cyrus returned enthusiastically. Zero could feel warmth beneath Cyrus' skin just as if he were a real human being.

"Dad? What's going on with Andromeda?" Cyrus asked before they broke apart.

"I don't know yet." He shook his head. "I think maybe an old hidden backup file has reintegrated itself into her main core and taken over."

He finally checked the time and found out it was reasonably into the next day. He'd slept all night against Cyrus' slab and not for the first time. Harper must have been doing something in the core and triggered it accidentally. He moved to his databoard and tried to connect it to Andromeda's wireless but the thing fried right in his hands. Cyrus moved like a blur and the burning datapad was on the floor across the room before Zero could be hurt.

"Are you okay, Dad?" Cyrus asked. His head was now only just shorter than Zero's. Zero nodded. "Dad?"

"Yeah, Cy?" He smiled, unused to this exchange with a real, life-like body. He'd been looking forwards to this so much but he'd never imagined it happening like this.

"I'm kinda naked." Cyrus told him, glancing down over his body.

Zero laughed and pulled Cyrus into another quick hug. "You're perfect."

"Thanks to you and Harper." Cyrus told him. "Thanks, Dad."

"You're my son." Zero told him gently. "I'd do anything for you."

"I know." Cyrus nodded with a smile as they pulled apart and Zero moved to a side draw and pulled out some clothing he'd thought to bring down days ago ready or this day. They were just some of Cyrus' clothing, loose combat trousers and a white t-shirt. Cyrus smiled and pulled them on and Zero decided that once this was all over he'd have to find some new clothes for Cyrus in the style he'd always warn in his own mind-scape.

"How do you feel?" Zero asked. "We'd basically finished but we were going to double check everything."

"Everything is working according to the specifications and designs you gave me weeks ago. Even…" Cyrus trailed off and glanced down his front. "Even the stuff people don't normally give androids."

"You're not just any android." Zero told him. "You have the ability to appreciate that side of humanity so it was worth the work."

"Thanks." Cyrus blushed and Zero found that strangely adorable. That an android could get embarrassed about talking about sexual activities with his 'dad' said a lot about him. "There wasn't any damage done during the fast transfer and all my internal and surface systems work. It's strange though."

"What is?" Zero frowned.

"Feeling." He frowned. "Tasting the air, smelling this lab. All the human mimicking systems like my lungs. I know I don't have to taste, smell or even breathe but it feels natural to me because I feel like you. I know I'm essentially an android but it's like I'm you stuck in an android body."

"Stuck?" Zero asked in concern.

"No. It's incredible!" Cyrus' grin spread like sunshine across his face.

"What about external systems?" Zero prompted.

"I can access and subvert control over any nearby system." He told Zero. "The connection to Andromeda's core is blocked in both directions but local control is working perfectly."

"Can she harm you?" Zero checked.

Cyrus thought for a moment which meant he was really considering the question before he shook his head. "No." He promised Zero. "She can try to access my data core but I can change my firewalls faster than she can find and infiltrate them."

"We need to move then." Zero nodded and looked around the room. He had no other weapons in the room to give to Cyrus but he knew he could get some from an armoury down the way if Cyrus could get them access.

"I have a communications link to Harper's databoard." Cyrus told him. "Do you want me to update him?"

"You want to tell him you're up and about?" Zero guessed with a grin.

Cyrus blushed a little but nodded. "A little?"

"Go for it." Zero nodded. "Tell him I want to know what he did to Andromeda."

"Already done." Cyrus nodded before looking at the door which slid open to a silent room on the other side. "Harper has already disabled all internal defences by putting them onto a self-diagnostic mode."

"Let's go then." He jogged out of the room with Cyrus following bare foot.

XOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOX

**Fifteen minutes later**

"Identify yourself!" Andromeda's holographic form appeared yet again in the cross junction ahead of them. She'd done the same when Cyrus and Zero had emerged from his inner lab and again after Cyrus had overridden the first local control for a bulkhead control.

"He is what he is." Zero told her.

"Assessment and evaluation of new artificial intelligence has commenced. Intrusion in five seconds." She announced before flickering away.

"Dad?" Cyrus turned to him in concern. "What's that mean?"

"It means…" He stopped when Cyrus tensed up and scrunched up his eyes. He opened them again after a few seconds.

"Dad, she's trying to access my datacore." Cyrus turned pleading eyes on him.

"Just keep her out, Cy." Zero promised. "I know you can do that. It'll be easy. I designed your systems to resist outside interference."

"Why's she doing it?" Cyrus asked, sounding very much like a young child wanting to know why the world was so mean. His attention was clearly turned inwards as well as onto Zero.

"It's in her programming." Zero told him. "Any Highguard AI like her that encounters a new AI is programmed to run an in-depth analysis into its creation, design and purpose."

"But Harper said I was illegal right?" Cyrus frowned.

"Yeah." Zero told him honestly. It would take Cyrus seconds to access the information on old Highguard laws. "Because I created you from scratch and you don't have the Commonwealth authorisation. But none of that matters, Cy. She can't hurt you. You don't have to let her in and she can't get past you. You're more advanced than her."

"You're sure?" Cyrus begged with his eyes. "Because she's really throwing everything she has at me!"

"I'm one hundred percent certain, Cyrus." Zero promised him. "Can you still walk with me and keep her at bay?"

"Yeah, Dad." Cyrus nodded resolutely. "Can we go find Harper?"

"Yeah." Zero nodded. "Weapons locker first though."

They headed for the nearest weapons locker and Cyrus easily circumvented the safety locks on the door and got them access and Zero kitted himself up a little better than just a Force Lance and also got Cyrus two Lances. He put on a shortwave communicator and turned it on knowing it ran on its own systems and Andromeda couldn't lock them out.

"This is Zero. Anyone on comms?"

"_Zero."_ Dylan announced in return. Zero glanced at Cyrus who grinned and nodded to tell him he could receive on that channel. _"Are you alone?"_

"Not really." Zero winced. "You?"

"_I'm with Beka at the weapons locker on E deck." _Dylan told him. _"What do you mean by not really?"_

"I'm at the locker on G deck. I've had contact with Harper via his databoard and he's working on his end but I need to head down to J deck to jack into her core and around her firewalls." Zero explained, carefully ignoring the query.

"_Zero!"_ Beka snapped over the line making him wince again. _"Are you with Tyr, Trance or Rev?"_

"Uh… none of the above?" He winced.

"_Who are you with then?"_ Dylan demanded.

"Umm… that's complicated and you'll yell at me." Zero frowned warningly at Cyrus when he giggled.

"_I'm yelling right now!"_ Beka shouted through the comm.

"Beka, Dylan. Meet Cyrus." Zero sighed. "Cyrus, say hello to Captain Hunt and Captain Valentine."

"Hello Captain Hunt and Captain Valentine." Cyrus said in a shy voice.

"_Zero? Who the hell is Cyrus?"_ Beka demanded sharply.

"Umm… promise you won't get louder?" Zero pleaded. He got silence in response. He sighed in defeat. "He's an AIEI I started months ago. He's been self-aware since before I rescued Joe and Izus."

"_Zero!"_ Beka gasped.

"_Enough."_ Dylan cut in. _"Is he capable of fighting with you?"_

"He's got full override access to any of Andromeda's systems close to him." Zero told them.

"_Can he access her core and correct this?"_ Dylan prompted.

"Not from here." Zero shook his head rather unnecessarily.

"And not until the ship's AI stops attempting to analyse my datacore, Captain Hunt." Cyrus offered a little nervously.

"_What?"_ Beka frowned.

"_Andromeda is programmed to analysis any new AI she comes in contact with." _Dylan explained quickly.

"And in Cyrus' case, attempt to delete him." Zero shot Cyrus a worried look but got a confident one in return. "But Cyrus can beat her hands down on his own turf. He just needs to wait for an opportunity before he can intrude on her own datacore effectively. If I can get him down to J deck he can do that."

"_Get to that then."_ Dylan ordered easily. _"Beka and I will head up to Command Deck and find out who the hell is flying my ship."_

"Data collected on previous eight Slipstreams including durational variations, decision delays and efficiency correlates to data available for Trance." Cyrus joined the conversation and Zero gave him a proud grin. Trust Cyrus to have thought to work that out yet not realised he should have maybe shared that knowledge to Zero.

"_Thank you, Cyrus."_ Dylan responded. _"You go with Zero and look after him."_

"He's my Dad." Cyrus grinned over at Zero as he announced that to the world. Beka gave them both a stern warning about getting hurt before they signed off and got to work.

XOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOX

**Twenty minutes later**

Sometimes being in such a large ship got annoying, especially when you were in a rush to get somewhere. They were just coming around to one of Andromeda's core access points so that he could set Cyrus up when they heard something hit the hull. They stopped as more of whatever it was could be heard.

"Magog swarm ships." Cyrus told Zero calmly. "One is only on the deck above us."

"We need to go down then." Zero announced and swung himself onto the nearest ladder and dropped down two decks, getting away from the outer hull as quickly as he could. Cyrus landed next to him a few seconds later. Zero looked around, listening to more Magog ships hitting the hull.

"Forty five and counting." Cyrus told him calmly. "Internal defences are still down. I can't override local ones to protect us."

The ship lurched violently into slipstream and jerked violently a few times before they were thrown back into normal space. There was silence before drumming started throughout the ship.

"_My servant."_ A deep voice slammed through him. It hit him like a heated wind, his vision blurred and he felt the world tipping and then warm arms cradling him. Cyrus had caught him. He felt like something powerful was flooding him, replacing what made him who he was. He saw flames and shadows flickering all around him. _"You have finally come to me."_

He gasped in air that didn't seem to be capable of expanding his lungs against the onslaught and felt Cyrus's hands on his body, trying to check his heart rate which he could hear pounding rapidly in his ears. He couldn't hear Cyrus' words or really focus on his face but he could hear a mumbling in his ear piece, somebody was trying to talk to him.

"_Forget about these mortals you have gathered to yourself."_ The voice echoed all the way through him again. _"They are nothing compared to you."_

"Get out!" He gasped.

"_You invited me in."_ The dark voice tormented him again. _"They have betrayed you. They…"_

The voice's scream was joined by his own screaming as pain tore through him. The dark power was thrown away from him in a burst of light and he was left gasping frantically in Cyrus' young arms. "Dad!" Cyrus gasped as, finally, Zero's eyes focused on him. "Please be alright!"

"I'm fine, Cy." Zero whispered over the pain in his throat. He'd clearly been in more pain then he'd realised.

"_Zero, what's going on!" _Beka's voice was suddenly loud in his ear. _"Cyrus said you collapsed."_

"I don't know what happened, Beka." Zero groaned as he struggled to his feet. He then realised just how quiet it suddenly was. The beating of the Magog was suddenly gone, leaving them in an eerie calm before the storm. He looked to Cyrus. "The core?"

"I nearly have access." Cyrus assured him. "She's distracted by something outside."

"More Magog?" Zero frowned.

"_Zero."_ Dylan's voice appeared in his ear. _"Tyr has gone to protect Harper. I need you to get somewhere safe and restore Andromeda's AI and then get to Command."_

"I…" Zero made to agree when suddenly a battle cry made him spin around sharply. His Force Lance came up but Cyrus was faster and his blast slammed into the Magog's chest, throwing him backwards. Two more appeared around the corner and Zero and Cyrus fired to take them down. "Dylan, we've got Magog. We'll pull back while Cyrus gains access."

"_We've got Magog too."_ Dylan announced, sounding every bit like he was fighting.

Zero started pulling back down the corridor but as they turned the first corner more Magog appeared, surrounding them. Zero looked around and spotted a store room with larger than normal doors. He pointed and Cyrus caught on and in seconds he overrode local control and opened the door. Zero ducked inside and Cyrus followed. They felled a Magog just short of the door before it slammed shut.

"That'll give us a few minutes." Zero announced. "What's outside?"

"I…" Cyrus paused with a frown. "From what I can see it's some sort of planet ship. Planets linked together by an artificial structure, centred around a small star. The planets are hollow and filled with Magog. Trillions of them."

"We need control of the ship." Zero frowned before looking around. He spotted the terminal against the wall and moved to it. Cyrus followed. "Access everything you need, take control of the ship. Quarantine Andromeda if you have to."

"I…" Cyrus frowned and looked down at his feet. "That doesn't feel right, Dad."

Zero sighed and moved right up to Cyrus and put his hands on the sides of his face and drew his eyes up level to his own. "I could never be more proud of you then I am hearing you say that, Cyrus." Zero assured him. "But right now Andromeda isn't herself. She's confused and she's going to hurt her crew, the people she has a duty to protect. She can't exactly love like you can but she does honour her crew and right now she's endangering that crew. If she was thinking straight she'd want you to take control, to protect us from her and to protect us from that Magog ship out there."

"Dad? What do I do?" Cyrus asked pleadingly.

"Use this." Zero tapped Cyrus on the top of the head. "Take control of the ship, Cyrus. Force her to let go of the defences and then use them to protect us."

"Dad…" Cyrus frowned. "I'd have to focus everything on the virtual. I won't be able to protect you."

"You let me worry about my own safety." Zero told him sternly. "You go in there and do what you have to do."

"She'll forgive me?" Cyrus asked meekly. "She won't stay angry at me afterwards."

"Once this is all over she'll think you're awesome, just like Harper and I do." Zero promised him. "You're sort of her little brother as things go. And right now she needs you to help her even if that means you need to tell her what to do. She needs you and she needs your abilities right now."

"Okay, Dad." Cyrus nodded and moved to the corner of the room and sat against the wall. Zero knew that once Cyrus shut down his motor functions and everything that made him look and act human he'd be nothing but an android to the Magog and they'd ignore him. "Please be here afterwards." Cyrus looked up at him with a pleading look.

"I just got you into the real world." Zero smiled down at him as a Magog slammed into the door and it creaked. "I've got so much to share with you."

Cyrus gave him a blinding smile at that promise and his eyes shut and his body went limp as he remote accessed the nearby terminal and flooded Andromeda's systems with his own sentience.

"Dylan, can you still hear me?" Zero spoke into the communicator.

"_I can hear you, Zero."_ Dylan responded quietly. _"We're three decks from Command but it's hard going."_

Zero frowned, realising what that meant. They were taking injuries. "Cyrus just uploaded himself into Andromeda's systems. It'll take time for him to take control and she's going to fight him every step of the way."

"_Can he do it?"_ Beka asked.

"He's…" Zero paused as the door shoved itself open six inches and Magog tried to get their hands through to push it further. "He's beyond any AI the Commonwealth could have ever dreamt up." Zero told them succinctly. "He's not just an AI, Dylan. He's alive, Beka. He feels just like we do and he loves just like we do. He won't fail."

"_What's your situation?"_ Dylan demanded.

"We're five decks down from you." Zero announced just as the door opened wide enough for Magog to slink through. They eyed him hungrily but there was something else too. They had hunted him down for something other than just killing. Rather than just attacking him they were trying to work out how to capture him. "Dylan. I'm sorry I never told you."

"_Told us what?"_ Beka's confusion was clear. _"Have you seen this?"_

"Not enough to have been able to prevent it." Zero told her as he moved back away from Cyrus' prone body. "But enough to know it's going to get worse. Far worse."

"_Anything to help us?"_ Dylan asked and Zero heard that they were running.

One of the Magog leapt and Zero fired, knowing that the sound would reach Dylan and Beka. "I saw you use it, Dylan." Zero told him, thinking of the Nova Bomb. "It's going to happen now."

The connection snapped and his ear filled with static. He shook his head just as the Magog leapt at him en mass. He killed two before knocking down another with his foot. He extended the lance and swung it into the face of another before shooting another point blank. He spun sideways away from two more before his head filled with noise. Screaming slammed through him, images of dying humans. The presence from before was back and it was reaching into his mind, dragging up images as if to pull out the darkness inside of himself.

His vision cleared like walking out from a dark room into bright sunlight. He was close to the floor as Magog backed away from him but everything was different. He flexed hundreds of muscles before leaping into the air and into the Magog. He wasn't something that simply defended itself. He was a predator and his body knew instinctively how to best kill the bipedal creatures. Jaws and claws flashed as he mauled without mercy until the Magog were screaming in fear and fleeing from the room.

He drew his head back and sucked in air and his call rent the air throughout the ship, shattering silence and stilling hundreds of Magog. He'd become that very same animal that Harper had once told him that they'd imitated on Earth to scare the Magog. He'd finally unlocked something that had been inside him for longer than he could remember. Andromeda had found the hidden DNA within him, making him faster than a human and giving him altered vocal chords but now his body had changed. He was a Black Panther now and perhaps he had a little human in him but right now he didn't care. He could fight better against Magog like this.

"Dad!" Cyrus appeared in the middle of the room, a hologram of his own. Cyrus stared at him in awe before his head twitched. "Please be able to understand me. She's trying to kill me, Dad!"

Zero growled at that idea, his Panther instincts demanding that he protect Cyrus. His head twitched though when he heard a distant scream. Harper's scream and he was in pain. Cyrus turned his holographic head. "Three decks down, Dad." Cyrus announced, clearly using the internal sensors. "He and Tyr are in trouble. You don't have much time."

Zero whined a little at leaving Cyrus when he was scared. "I can stop her, Dad." Cyrus promised. "It's hard and she scares me but you need me to do this and I'm going to do it. I'll keep an eye on everyone for you."

Zero growled and leapt for the door. Cyrus' image flickered out as he dove through him and soon he was hurtling through corridors and dropping down ladders as if they were simple steps. He arrived only a minute after he'd heard Harper's scream of pain and he had to leap over a pile of Magog bodies. He landed in the middle of the room and eight Magog turned to him. He could smell Harper and Tyr's blood in the room amongst the dozen Magog corpses but could only smell their trail out of the room.

The Magog leapt at him and he tore one apart in seconds before jumping away and roaring at the top of his lungs. The sound rent through the air, filling the ship with his furious cry. The Magog cried out in fear and took a couple of steps back before one he couldn't see growled out an order that had the Magog leaping at him again. He tore out another Magog's throat and blood sprayed across the room. He heard the sharp sound of an energy weapon and leapt out of the path of the energy projectile. It hit another Magog in the chest and he turned his attention to the only Magog in the room wearing armour. A Magog lunged at his side in his distraction and claws scraped for purchase against his felt. Another Magog latched onto him and then two more until he was being forced into the ground and pinned under a half dozen Magog. His angry growls filled the air and he could smell their deep-rooted fear.

He smelt the metal of armour a split second before the butt of a rifle slammed into the side of his head.

XOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOX

He woke slowly and found himself back in his human body. He shook his head to try to clear it even as two furred creatures yanked him to his knees. He was wearing his normal clothes, blood-stained as they were and he was looking out over a deep chasm, one he'd seen a dozen times in his dreams. In the centre of the chasm was a single needle of stone. He was on one of the planets around the world ship. He'd been captured by the Magog and taken to their monstrous ship.

He felt warmth flood the chamber, fires flickered into existence down in the bottom of the chasm and heat haze blurred his view across the room. The Magog fell to their knees all around him but he couldn't get up the energy right now to stand and try to escape. He was sore and doubted he could get far.

A pillar of fire erupted on the top of the needle and took on a humanoid form. It flowed back and forth within the heat haze, fire and shadow flexing as it moved. "Servant." It announced, its voice throbbing through his mind and making his eyes tear up at the sheer overwhelming pressure.

"No!" He hissed out through clenched teeth. "I'm not your anything!"

"You're mine." The creature hissed. "There is no fight left in you. You are a discarded toy from an ancient playground. I can make you into something great. Join me."

"What ancient playground?" He demanded.

"Such a pathetic pawn." The voice throbbed through him once more. It was laughing at him. "They messed with your mind. Took out what made you free so that you could no longer choose me."

"I'd never choose the God of the Magog!" He snarled and the Magog around him growled and hissed at him in anger.

"You did choose my power though." The creature taunted. "But they did not agree with your own choices so took your freedom from you."

"Who are you talking about?" He snarled.

"The abominations of light. Your kin who pretend to protect the lesser mortals of these galaxies. Pretenders who abuse their power, who tore your personality and life from you and cast you into the future."

"Future?" He gasped.

The creature, the Abyss, suddenly cried out in pain and anger. Fire flared out around it, filling the chamber before all at once bright white light flared through the room and the ground started to shake. Something cold and almost soothing surrounded him and he was lost to that coldness for longer than he could stand.

XOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOX

**Later**

Zero blinked his eyes open slowly against the bright light. He groaned as he realised just how much his body ached but as his memory of the Magog rushed back to him he wondered how long it had taken Andromeda to fully heal his bruises, lacerations and scratches. It was that query that made him realise that he was in a bed in sick bay and that Andromeda wasn't on alert and wasn't trying to kill them.

He sat up sharply and looked around and he must have gasped because the people standing around the room started around to look at him. Dylan and Beka had been talking quietly together by the wall on the far side of the room. Tyr and Rev were lurking in the corners of the room while Trance had been fussing over Harper in one of the other beds. Lastly in the room were Rommie and Cyrus. Rommie was standing silently half way between the two beds while Cyrus was sitting right next to Zero, on his left whereas everyone else was on his right.

"Dad!" Cyrus broke the surprised silence and in a flash he was sitting next to Zero on the bed and wrapping his arms around him.

"You're back in your body?" Zero asked him once Cyrus let him pull back and look him over. "No damage?"

"No damage." Cyrus announced happily.

"What happened to you, Zero?" Dylan asked as the group moved to surround his bed.

Zero sighed before shaking his head. "You first." He demanded. Dylan and Beka frowned. "I haven't completely worked it out for myself yet."

"Alright." Dylan sighed. "Cyrus says you know about Tyr and Harper being captured." Zero nodded and glanced at Harper's unconscious form. "Cyrus warned us the moment that the Magog knocked you out but he was too busy trying to repair Andromeda's core to get back to his body and protect you."

"I don't blame Cyrus." Zero frowned at Dylan and saw Cyrus sag in relief beside him. He turned to look at him. "You did good Cy, I don't blame you. I never would."

"Thanks, dad." Cyrus smiled happily.

"We took a massive hit shortly after you were taken and we came close to being killed." Dylan sighed. "But Cyrus and Andromeda finally got control of the ship and moved us out of danger. Cyrus helped Andromeda fully restore herself."

"And she finally stopped trying to kill me." Cyrus announced with a happy grin across at Rommie who huffed.

"It's in my programming." The holographic Andromeda appeared at the foot of Zero's bed.

"I've cleared Cyrus to exist as far as Andromeda is concerned." Dylan told Zero, seeing his worried look. "It won't be a problem anymore."

"Thanks." Zero smiled. He wouldn't have to do something drastic to Andromeda's core programming this way.

"Anyway, Rommie and I went down in the Maru to the world-ship to try to find you, Tyr and Harper."

"And you left Beka to use the last Nova Bomb on the sun in the middle of that thing." Zero frowned.

"You knew about that thing!" Beka gasped.

"Zero confronted me about it almost straight away after I decided to keep it." Dylan nodded. "Told me I'd use it too but I didn't believe I'd ever find a reason for it."

"Did you find Harper and Tyr before the Nova Bomb went off?" Zero frowned. He remembered the supernova going off. The bright white light that had hurt the Abyss. He didn't know how he'd survived unless the Abyss had saved him but why would the Abyss have saved Tyr and Harper?

"No." Dylan shook his head. "The sun went supernova and we estimate it killed billions of Magog but the worlds and the ship itself survived. We think the Abyss, the God of the Magog, saved the ship."

"It's still out there?" Zero frowned.

"Crippled for the time being." Rommie nodded. "But still extremely dangerous and it's only a matter of time before it can finish repairs and continue its journey to our Galaxy."

Zero let himself fall back onto the bed with a sigh. "Harper?" Zero asked weakly.

"Tyr and Harper were…" Beka started.

"Infected by Magog Larvae." Zero interrupted her. He shut his eyes and his body shuddered.

"You knew?" Beka gasped. "What the hell, Zero! What else did you know was going to happen?"

"All of it." Zero whispered without opening his eyes. "Or at least bits of it. I knew we'd run into Magog. I knew Andromeda was going to go crazy on us. I knew Dylan would have to use the Nova Bomb on a sun. I knew the Abyss would be here. I knew Trance, Dylan and Beka would end up on the floor of Command. I knew…" He sucked in a lung full of air. "I knew Harper would get infected…"

His eyes snapped open and he found Tyr watching him with a frown. "I didn't see you getting infected.

"I'm not anymore." Tyr grunted.

"I worked out how to remove them." Trance spoke calmly even though the others were all frowning at him. Except for Cyrus of course. "But the procedure almost killed Tyr. I can't do the same treatment on Harper."

"Zero." Beka spoke calmly but there was something in her tone that told Zero she was bordering on murderous. "How could you not tell us? Why not warn us? Even if you didn't know when it would happen and even if you thought you couldn't change anything. Give me one good reason why Harper didn't deserve a chance to…"

"To what!" Zero cried out as he sat up sharply. Beka backpedalled in shock.

"I don't know!" Beka almost shouted back at him.

"You think I really should have told him?" Zero ranted. "And what? Given him a chance to put a laser welder to the side of his head?"

"Harper would never do that!" Beka gasped angrily and took a step towards Zero before coming up short like she'd slammed into an invisible wall. The blood drained out of her face even as she spotted how Zero was shaking where he sat. "You saw that?"

Zero nodded miserably. "I saw myself telling Harper everything and then I saw him committing suicide to escape this. I…" Zero shuddered. "I couldn't watch him do that. Once was too much."

"Zero…" Beka collapsed onto the bottom of the bed and sat by his feet. "I shouldn't have…"

"Forget it." Zero shook his head.

"What happened to you, Zero?" Dylan asked.

Zero looked down at his fingers before looking around at them all. "The Magog took me to the Abyss." Zero whispered.

"Why?" Beka asked.

Zero cradled his head in his hands. "Because somewhere in the past I've done something to attract his attention."

"What?" Dylan pressed.

"I don't know." He muttered. "But he wants me. I…"

"Zero?" Dylan asked quietly.

"I don't know yet." Zero whispered. "He said some stuff that doesn't really make sense. I'm still working it through."

"Like what?" Dylan pressed.

"He said I chose him." Zero whispered in fear. "He said I chose his power of my own free will."

"Like that bounty hunter?" Beka frowned.

"I don't know." Zero shook his head. "He said that somebody took out my memories, took away my free will so I couldn't keep that choice. Or something like that."

"You mean you have amnesia because somebody punished you for choosing the Abyss?" Trance frowned.

"I don't know!" Zero snapped, he could feel tears on his face and wiped at them furiously.

"Did he say anything about who it was that did this to you?" Dylan asked. Zero looked up at his calm expression. Did he really not blame him and hate him for whatever choice he'd once made and now forgotten.

Zero nodded. "I don't understand it though."

"Just tell us what the Abyss said." Beka told him.

"He said they were Abominations of Light." Zero muttered.

"Who are they?" Beka frowned at Dylan who shrugged. "Well a God of the Magog would call a Light equivalent an abomination I suppose so maybe they're the good guys."

"Good guys that took away Zero's memories?" Trance asked sceptically.

"Because he chose to serve the Abyss." Tyr mused making Zero flinch violently. Cyrus caught him with an arm around his shoulders and Zero found himself leaning into Cyrus' side.

"The Abyss said that they were my kin." Zero whispered but had everyone's attention straight away. "That they protect the mortals in these Galaxies. Or that they're Pretenders."

"And if you chose the Abyss for some reason then I can see why they'd interfere where they didn't with that Bounty Hunter." Dylan mused. "If you are one of them."

"I don't know, Dylan." Zero shook his head violently. "It's all just words. It doesn't bring up memories or anything!"

"I know." Dylan sighed. "Anything else."

Zero nodded and looked around. "The Abyss said that when they took my memories they also cast me into the future." Zero muttered only just audibly.

"The future?" Tyr asked sceptically once more. "And what? You came back and that's where your visions come from?"

Zero blinked having not thought about that but eventually he shook his head. "No, as in this is the future compared to where they took me from."

"Like Dylan and Rommie?" Beka asked.

Zero straightened up sharply. "My nightmares."

"Visions?" Dylan frowned.

"Andromeda and I were compiling a series of images within my nightmares and visions that have yet to happen and make no sense." Zero frowned. "Andromeda, show them the tower."

The holographic Andromeda moved to the side and on the screen behind her Blackpool Tower appeared. "Blackpool Tower, destroyed in early twenty-first century Earth."

"I saw a vision of it being destroyed." Zero muttered. "But I couldn't understand why I was seeing something that had happened…" He trailed off.

"Two thousand, three hundred and eighteen years ago." Everyone stared at Rommie in shock before looking at Zero.

"And I thought three hundred years into the future was out of place." Dylan swallowed thickly.

"I saw that Tower explode more than two millennia ago." Zero fell back onto the bed. "And then I did something bad. I chose the Abyss and my kin, whoever the hell they are, took out my memories, my life, and sent me to just a few years ago." A horrible thought suddenly occurred to him and new tears fell. What if the Abyss was heading for their Galaxy because Zero had called it? What if everything the Magog had done to their Galaxy, all the pain and destruction, was his fault?

A noise distracted them all and Zero sat up as the others rushed over to Harper. Cyrus moved to sit next to him and Zero let him tuck himself up under his arm as he fought with tears. He listened with half an ear as the others broke the news to Harper and he heard Beka tell Harper that Zero had gotten a warning and why he hadn't told him. Then everyone left except for Cyrus and Dylan. Dylan sat on the foot of Harper's bed and Zero listened to him summarise what had happened to Zero and what they had just been talking about before finally Zero, Cyrus and Harper were alone.

Zero stood up and silently padded his way to the edge of Harper's bed where the older man was looking up at him with red eyes. "I don't blame you." Harper told him scratchily.

Zero collapsed onto the edge of the bed and Cyrus was suddenly supporting him and lifting him to lie next to Harper. Zero turned and hid his face in Harper's chest as he cried. "You should." Zero told Harper quietly. "Especially if the Magog are my fault."

XOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOX

**End Chapter**


	11. Absence of Identity

Sacrifice

A/N; Sorry for the long wait for this one. I keep saying it for all my stories but I can never seem to find the time to write at the moment but I promise not to abandon any of my works. This chapter is a little shorter than normal because of the fit of the chapter in season two of Andromeda and covers the intermission chapters at the beginning of the season and because of that the episode information is limited because I've focused more on the characters themselves. Hope you enjoy.

Chapter 11; Absence of Identity

**Two weeks later**

Zero sat back from the latest small space he had been cramped into over the last two weeks as it hummed to life. He was working hard on the control deck right now but he was still going carefully down the extremely long list of jobs he needed to do that he'd tied into Harper's list and that Andromeda was monitoring to make sure they were doing things as efficiently as possible.

While they worked on things Rommie, Trance and Cyrus worked to clear the several thousand Magog corpses from all of the hallways. Though Cyrus was always quick to keep an eye on Zero and lend a hand with anything that he didn't help with though it was actually just as important right now to clear the corridors as the bodies started to decompose.

Zero frowned down at his pad and then bit his lip as he shifted over to Harper's list. He hadn't really worked on anything at all today and had barely done anything for a couple of weeks though Zero really couldn't blame him expect he knew that Harper loved to work and if he wasn't then he was really bad off.

"Andromeda, run a test on your navigation systems." He prompted.

"A full test?" She asked.

"I think that's everything to do with navigation sorted out." Zero nodded. "Hardware _and_ software. So run a full diagnostic and then let me know if there's something that still needs work."

"Beginning diagnostic." She nodded. "Time to completion, three hours and forty-two minutes."

"Alright." He looked back at his own list. "I need to work in order. Slipstream controls are next but I'm a little stuck until Harper sorts out the calibration problems on the starboard rails."

Andromeda's hologram appeared. "I will speak with Harper."

"No." Zero sighed. "I'll do the calibrations."

"Are you sure?" She frowned down at him.

"Just give him space, Andromeda." He sighed. He hadn't really talked to Harper much lately but he knew that twice Andromeda had come to wake him because Harper had had a particularly bad nightmare but both times Cyrus had intercepted her and gone to Harper instead. As long as Harper was getting help then Zero didn't mind and he was keeping his distance because of his own part in Zero getting infested by the damn larvae.

"Calibration will most likely take six hours." She pointed out.

"It's fine. I'll work late." He assured her as he stood up and looked around the mostly destroyed control deck. It wasn't really a priority though as long as the systems were working elsewhere. He had an idea for rebuilding it though and he'd need Harper's help to pull it off.

"You will work yourself to death if you attempt to do all the repairs yourself at this rate." Andromeda warned as he stood and headed for the doors. He'd need to raid Harper's lab for the tools he'd need for the next job.

"It's fine, Andromeda." Zero shook his head. "I haven't had a single vision in two weeks. It's done wonders for my sleeping habits."

He walked out into the corridor and her hologram jumped ahead of him. "I'm sleeping more than normal even with working overtime. I'm okay with that, Andromeda, and right now Harper needs the time to get his head set straight. He deserves the break after what he went through."

"And what about what you went through?" She demanded.

"Not much point worrying about it right now since I don't actually have enough information on it." He shrugged.

She appeared on one of the screens and he paused to face her as her hologram appeared next to him. "I have been looking over all references to figures in historical texts and legends that match the description you gave."

"What? Light 'abominations'?" He scoffed. "That's going to be a long list."

"I am assuming that your visions are tied to the race that the Abyss tied you to." She announced. "I am linking the search to references of temporal abilities."

"Well they did transport me into the future." He shrugged. "I hadn't thought about that. Either way it's hardly a priority right now. Repairing you and sorting out Harper is more important."

"I'm asking Cyrus to assist you with calibrations." The hologram announced.

"Stop mothering me, Andromeda." He demanded. "Both of you… hell, all three of you. Cyrus needs to help clear the corridors before the smell becomes permanent. It's hard enough working in those areas already after just two weeks."

"Very well." She nodded and both images vanished.

XOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOX

**A week later**

After three weeks he was very much getting tired with the workload, even though he was still sleeping well. The problem was most of the work now was starting to become more mechanical and without Harper to help he was stressing himself and then having to concentrate on the more technical software side of things too and with Cyrus still helping Rommie and Trance to clear the decks and Harper hiding he was doing a lot of it himself.

"Dad?" Cyrus called across the engine room where Cyrus was trying to sort of one of the AP regulators so that he could then move up a few decks to a damaged section of AP cabling that fed some of the AP cannons. The cannons were working fine so far as he could tell but the computer control systems were completely fried but until he had power he couldn't try to sort them out so that tied into five jobs before he could even do that one and three should have really gone to Harper.

"Cy?" He stood up and leaned back on the dead side of the AP channel even though it was all shut down right now. His teenage-looking son smiled and quickly gave him a short hug though Zero guessed it was more to check on him than another excuse to hug him.

"Rommie is worried about Harper." Cyrus told him softly.

"I know." Zero frowned.

"More specifically now." Cyrus countered. "He's in the medbay and his blood-toxicity is rather higher than normal." Cyrus told him before wincing. "And he's got a gun."

Zero frowned and suddenly missed his visions like he hadn't for three weeks. He'd had no idea that Harper was that far gone and the realisation made a shock of pain go through his chest. What if he'd been telling everyone to lay off Harper but in fact it was making him worse? He knew Rommie and Trance were always checking up on him but maybe making him work would have helped.

"Let's go." Zero announced and ran from the room. Cyrus stuck with him but it wasn't far to the medbay and they were just in time to see Harper turn a gun towards his stomach. Zero walked closer and Cyrus stayed at his side, ready for anything.

"Harper." Zero spoke softly as he circled around a scanner that was focusing on the larvae in Harper's stomach. He stopped a pace from Harper who was staring up at him but hadn't moved the gun from his stomach.

"Leave me alone." Harper grumbled.

"You don't really want to do that do you?" Zero asked as he reached to the side and flicked off the scanner.

"Maybe." Harper grumbled.

"Uncle Harper. Give me that gun. Please?" Cyrus asked, rather upset, and the tone made Harper twitch. Cyrus was focused on the trigger and Zero knew that Cyrus could spot the smallest of movements of Harper's trigger finger and have the gun out of his hand before he could fire.

"I've seen you do this already, Shay." Zero spoke softly. "Please don't do it for real." Harper twitched again. "I need you. All of this is too much without you."

Harper dropped the gun into his lap and Zero moved closer and took it from him and set it to the side. Zero closed the gap and pulled Harper against him and held onto him loosely. Harper broke down and hid his face in his chest. Zero slowly pulled back once Harper had control of himself again and Cyrus hugged him quickly.

"What am I supposed to do, Zero?" Harper asked.

"I feel a bit lost without my visions all of a sudden." Zero grumbled. "I wish I could have just one that showed you with us in the future so I could be sure you'll be fine."

"Maybe that's why you're not having any." Harper sighed. "Because whatever they are they don't want you to know I'm stuffed no matter what."

"If we don't get those out…" Zero shifted to grab Harper's head between his hands and look into his eyes. "If I lose you I will do everything to get you back."

"Like what?" Harper frowned.

"They put me over three thousand years into the future." Zero pointed out. "I'd do anything for you, Shay."

"Anything?" Harper asked softly.

Zero looked down in embarrassment before nodding. "Just don't leave me." Zero begged. "Please?"

"Promise." Harper nodded.

Zero slumped in relief and moved to sit on the bed next to Harper. "I hate that this happened to you. I hate I couldn't stop it."

"I know." Harper nodded.

Cyrus shifted and hugged Harper tightly which just made Harper chuckle a little.

XOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOX

**A week later**

Harper had been a lot cheerier the last week since his talk with Zero and Cyrus but he was still withdrawn and buried himself in work but the return of the Eureka Maru with Dylan, Beka, Rev and Tyr had stirred up something in Harper and he'd been hiding away the last few days in big jobs around the ship, basically avoiding them.

It was the second night after their return that Harper opened his bedroom door which made Cyrus bolt upright on his half of the bed. The corridors were finally clear and Cyrus had taken to spending the entire nights lying on the other half of the bed and shutting down his links to the ship so he could rest even though it didn't take more than a fraction of a second for Andromeda to notify him of a problem. Cyrus was down to boxers as always at night because he found it uncomfortable on his senses to be weighed down by the combat trousers, t-shirt and hoodie he wore during the day and it didn't hurt to be able to cuddle up to his dad whenever he wanted to.

"Uncle Shay?" Cyrus asked softly as the door shut again and Zero slowly sat up and blinked tiredly at Harper as he shuffled towards the bed.

"What's up, Shay? Nightmare?" Cyrus asked and shifted into the middle of the bed. Harper pulled off his shirt, shoes and trousers and crawled into the bed.

"Not been to bed." Harper grumbled into the pillow before rolling towards Zero who stayed on his back so as not to turn his back on Cyrus. "This bed's getting too small." Harper grunted.

"No, it's not." Cyrus announced and tucked himself up with the covers.

"Zero. Did you mean it all last week?" Harper asked.

"About needing you?" Zero guessed and Harper just nodded. Zero just turned his head towards Harper and thought about his words before deciding to just throw caution to the stars and pulled Harper up to him so he could see him properly. Harper hovered over him with a small frown on his face. "I love you, Shay."

"Love?" Harper gasped.

"Love you and need you." Zero nodded. "I mean as more than just a friend."

"Together? You and me?" Harper swallowed thickly.

"I think that sort of depends on you, Uncle Shay." Cyrus teased.

"Shut it, brat." Harper complained before dropping his head onto Zero's chest and wrapping his arms around him.

"Sorry, Shay." Zero sighed heavily which just made Harper look up at him. Harper frowned before a small smile emerged on his lips before he lowered his head. Zero tensed before relaxing completely as Harper's lips settled against his for several very long seconds as Zero returned the kiss softly.

They separated and Harper smiled down at him. "Wondered if you felt that way." Harper told him softly. "I hoped you did but I wanted to wait to see how it worked out. With everything happening…" Harper sighed. "I didn't want to push you into anything."

Zero smiled up at him and Harper rolled to lie over him but settled down straight away. "Does this mean I get a new daddy?" Cyrus asked cheekily which made Zero choke and Harper blush furiously. They both reached out and swatted Cyrus gently but it was clear to Zero just how tired Harper was so they all settled down to sleep.

XOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOX

**Two weeks later**

Zero was proud to say that all of Andromeda's systems were officially up and running to expected standards. She could still do with a serious overhaul with a team of thousands of engineers but she was running pretty well for an engineering team of two. Plus the rest of the crew chipping in wherever they could.

They'd been at Pierpont Drift for the last few days as they tried to negotiate a peace between a Than fleet and the local crime lord and ruler over a stone that was important to the Than but had been missing for more than a century. Zero had been kept out of most of it because ex-slaves were a traded commodity on the drift. Capturing them and selling them back to their old owners was a profitable venture for some so he'd stuck with going over their repairs and running tests. And a nice lie in before spending the day with Cyrus in his VR suite to check on his systems after being online in his physical body for a month before they'd finally left the drift with all their problems solved.

Zero was on his way to dinner with Harper in his rooms, which were becoming their rooms since Harper rarely slept apart from Zero now and that had been noticed by the rest of the crew. Tyr was the only one that was showing a problem with it. Gay Nietzscheans wasn't really heard of because it was considered a bad trait for carrying on their genetic superiority. Didn't carry over to taking out gay tendencies on unwilling human slaves though it seemed.

He was just passing the observation deck when he spotted the figure inside looking out of the window at the distant stars and decided to go inside. Dylan on the observation deck meant he was troubled and Zero really hadn't seen much of the man since the World Ship incident. He didn't bother trying to hide his approach but it seemed Dylan was distracted too much to hear him and he twitched a little as Zero appeared a few paces to the side along the rail.

"Zero!" Dylan sucked in a breath. "Don't _do_ that."

"I didn't do it on purpose." Zero shrugged. "You were distracted. Problem?"

"Nothing in particular." Dylan frowned before moving back away from the window to the bench and sat himself down. Zero leaned on the railing and studied him.

"Did the universe get big again on you?" Zero asked and Dylan looked up at him in confusion and surprise.

"I…" Dylan frowned. "I don't know if I would have thought to describe it that way but I suppose that's it in the simplest terms. How did you know?"

"Good guess." Zero laughed.

"Still no visions then?" Dylan asked.

"Nothing since just before the World Ship attacked us." Zero shook his head. "But as for how you're thinking we all have a moment like that in our lives. For me it was when I met you I suppose."

"I don't think you can give me _that_ much credit." Dylan laughed.

"I'm an odd case. Maybe I had a moment like it before but I don't know. All I knew was slavery in one complex on one world. Nothing mattered to me but my family and then they were gone."

"Shouldn't that be your moment?" Dylan asked with a raised eyebrow.

"I kind of went onto autopilot after that." Zero shrugged. "I was just dealing and things were just happening if that makes sense."

"I get it." Dylan nodded. "First you found a way to escape and that led you to Beka and then she took you in and you went along for the ride salvaging Andromeda."

"Then this huge bloke in High Guard uniform was standing over me with a glare." Zero laughed. "That's what changed things. I decided to help you out in the end if you remember. I made that decision because the universe was bigger than just my situation."

"And you think that's the same as me?" Dylan asked, clearly interested in how Zero saw it.

"Well when you first came out of the black hole you wanted to rebuild the Commonwealth and that might seem big but it was a dream. You wanted it." Zero shrugged. "But now there's a World Ship and if you don't get a Commonwealth running that is powerful enough to defeat it then the galaxies are screwed. Your Universe just got much bigger."

"You're right." Dylan sighed and hung his head. "But I'm not alone."

"No. You dragged all of us into it too." Zero laughed and Dylan flashed him a smile. "I want to help you, Dylan. I'm just not sure what as."

"As a friend." Dylan told him quickly.

"You know what I mean." Zero rolled his eyes. "It would be nice to be able to understand myself."

"After what the Abyss told you?" Dylan asked.

"I'm confused and this lack of visions isn't helping me." Zero shook his head. "Part of me thinks that _I_ did this to myself. The lack of visions thing that is."

"How so?" Dylan frowned.

"I thought Andromeda had killed Cyrus." Zero sighed and with a flash of light Andromeda's hologram was between them on Zero's right with a frown on her face. "Or at least the other stored copy of you that you've now integrated."

"When I fired on you in your lab?" Andromeda frowned.

"It wasn't your fault." Zero sighed.

"What happened?" Dylan prompted.

"Harper and I were working on Cy's body in the other room so Andromeda couldn't see it but he was in one of the consoles in my lab. Aware of what was happening through a sensor reader I put onto the console." Zero explained. "Andromeda fired at me and I was dodging and then I saw it. One of her early shots hit right in the middle of Cyrus' console and straight through."

Zero paused as he shut his eyes for a moment before looking up at Dylan and he knew his eyes were damp. "I know it was a console but I knew Cyrus was in there. It was like seeing your own child shot in front of you." Zero shook his head. "I got into the back room and Cyrus' body was on the table just as always with no sign of life and I went to pieces."

"Except he must have transferred from the console when he realised the danger." Andromeda prompted.

"He did." Zero nodded. "It just took him a few minutes to fully install himself into the hardware and take control but I wasn't really thinking straight. You see I'd seen him in visions. I remembered seeing his android body smiling at me. Hugging me. I remembered seeing him with all of you."

"And you thought the visions had lied to you?" Dylan asked just as Andromeda's hologram terminated and left them alone.

"I remember thinking that they were useless. That they were something I'd come to rely on for our protection and they were nothing trustworthy. That the one thing that made me truly useful was useless." Zero sighed.

"The visions aren't what make you useful, Zero." Dylan sighed.

"I know." Zero shrugged. "But even beyond that. They were a reason for why I existed. They told me there was more to me than just being a slave with barely any memory."

"And you think that losing faith in your visions is what's stalled them now?" Dylan asked.

"I'm not sure." Zero shrugged. "I never saw anything beyond the World Ship really. Maybe it's just that nothing is really dangerous right now. I don't know."

"And that added to what the Abyss told you." Dylan nodded. "That you're some creature of light that watch over the galaxies."

"He didn't quite say that." Zero pointed out.

"That's our conclusion though." Dylan shrugged. "I know Andromeda made you a list of all such beings from her databases. It's a long list."

"Every race has some sort of mythical being." Zero shrugged. "Somehow they transported me three thousand years into the future so they must have power. If I'm not human what am I?"

"It doesn't matter to us." Dylan shook his head.

"There're too many questions about me." Zero sighed. "What was I like before? Why did I choose the Abyss and get punished by these Light 'Abominations'? Why put me here and now? Am I here because of you and if so why?"

"I thought about that." Dylan sighed. "Their timing and your visions since coming onto the Andromeda. You were meant to be here and you were meant to help."

"Maybe to prove myself worthy after I chose the Abyss?" Zero asked. "Help you and prove myself again."

"Maybe." Dylan nodded.

"And the worst question in my head." Zero looked at Dylan and bit his lip. "Did the Abyss come to the tri-galaxies because of me? Did _I_ call it here? All the Magog attacks…" He trailed off.

Dylan just looked at him and he was obviously struggling to find something to say to him. In the end he stood up. "I don't have any real answers for you, Zero. But I'll help you find them."

"Thanks." Zero whispered and slipped out of the room to go apologise to Harper for being late for their dinner together.

XOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOX

**Five days later**

"Zero." Dylan greeted as he walked into the room.

"Cyrus said you wanted to see me?" Zero asked as he looked at the screen that showed a graphical representation of the world they were currently orbiting. Dylan had asked Andromeda to call him for a chat in his own quarters and she had done so by telling Cyrus. Cyrus wasn't linked to the ship like Rommie was but he was in contact with the Andromeda AI whenever he wanted.

"How's Cyrus coping with life?" Dylan asked.

"He's having a brilliant time." Zero laughed. "He likes treating me like his dad. Spends every evening telling me all about his day."

Dylan smiled at him gently. "Rommie tells me he's almost twice as powerful now than he was when he first installed himself in his avatar."

"He's evolving himself very fast." Zero nodded. "But he's still him."

"So I've noticed." Dylan nodded. "I take it you're aware of what's going on?"

"You mean about the Pyrian ships toasting Inari freighters?" Zero asked.

"Yes." Dylan nodded.

"I've been paying attention." Zero prompted. The Inari government had asked for Dylan's help and they'd come to help because of the poor freighter crews that had been killed in the last few months only to find out it was a Pyrian Torchship that was targeting the cargo ships full of Ammonium Phosphate, a fertiliser that Inari produced in copious amounts. "But you're leery about going up against the Pyrians, right? Because of the old treaty the Commonwealth had with them?"

"Exactly." Dylan nodded. "It's not like the Pyrians to attack without reason."

"It's been three hundred years, Dylan." Zero reminded him. "Things change."

"Well I need your help." Dylan told him. "We're in the middle of this and we don't even really know either side of the story."

"You want me to hack the Inari and find out?" Zero asked.

"Do you think you can do it?" Dylan asked.

"I can definitely do it." Zero nodded. "Getting the information will most likely be child's play. Doing it unnoticed will be the challenge."

"I'd rather you weren't caught but I won't just hand you over if you do." Dylan told him.

"Cyrus can help me out." Zero grinned. "He'll love it."

"Let me know what you find out." Dylan nodded.

Zero excused himself and headed back to his own room where he could just as easily access Andromeda's communications systems in order to start his hack against the Inari. He found Cyrus helping Harper out but soon they were ready to get started. Cyrus let Zero take off his shirt and access his data port on the back of his right shoulder blade and Zero used a hard cable to link his own data port to Cyrus' core AI and quickly found himself well immersed in Cyrus' VR matrix.

"Hey, dad!" Cyrus grinned warmly as he bounced.

"You've shrunk a bit." Zero frowned down at Cyrus who scuffed his foot. "Don't you like your height?"

"I…" Cyrus fidgeted. "I like my avatar's height. I like being shorter than you though. It's just not efficient in the real world. I'm just making the most of the VR."

"To be cute and innocent?" Zero smirked before reaching up to muse Cyrus' hair even though it wasn't really effective in the virtual reality.

"So, we've got work to do?" Cyrus asked eagerly.

"We've got to find out what the Inari are possibly doing that's upset the Pyrians." Zero announced.

"So I get to hack into the Inari databases?" Cyrus grinned.

"Shouldn't be any harder than when you went up against Andromeda's AI." Zero shrugged.

"Requesting access to Andromeda's communications systems." Cyrus announced and the VR shifted around them to show the link Cyrus had formed to Andromeda's communications hardware. "I think it best that you hack through me, dad." Cyrus announced. "I can protect you from any aggressive reactions."

"Alright, kid." Zero chuckled knowing Cyrus wouldn't have it any other way and together they got to work. They used their two guests as guides assuming that they'd be involved in whatever was happening and spent the next few hours looking around for the secrets of the Inari civilisation.

"Dad?" Cyrus asked after a few hours as he flagged something amongst the massive amount of data that Cyrus was searching. Even now the information they'd discovered was going to Andromeda. The Inari people had been trading Ammonium Phosphate on the Pyrian black market for its highly addictive properties and the Pyrian military were cracking down on it by targeting the suppliers. Right now Dylan was dealing with that situation and Cyrus and Zero were just checking on things.

"Cy?" Zero turned his attention to him and around them the VR vanished to show a scene that Cyrus had found. It was a security camera video but Cyrus had turned it into a three dimensional image using two other camera angles. In the middle Trance was sitting on a lab chair but she didn't seem to be strapped down but the door was definitely locked.

"I thought she went down as a guest." Cyrus frowned angrily at the man fretting in front of Trance. He was scared.

"Can you connect me?" Zero asked.

"Holographic system located." Cyrus announced regally.

"Transmit our images." Zero nodded and grinned when he and Cyrus appeared behind the old man. He couldn't actually see from the hologram's vantage point but basically saw himself appear on the VR.

"Cyrus! Zero!" Trance greeted happily.

"You don't look very comfortable." Zero announced but his expressions were limited though Cyrus' image was glaring at the old Inari man.

"It's all alright, Zero." Trance nodded. "He wont stop me walking out of here."

"Are you sure, Auntie Trance?" Cyrus demanded before glancing away and with a click the door unlocked. "I've discovered data on tests run on you. They're not pleasant."

"Nothing I couldn't handle." Trance assured them. "Do me a favour and delete their information on me. I'm returning now."

"I'll come pick you up in a slip fighter." Zero announced before their holograms vanished.

"Dad?" Cyrus asked. "The information in the recordings… Trance told him what she was."

"Trance's secrets are her own." Zero shook his head. "Being what you are means you'll learn secrets but you have to respect people's privacy.

"Okay." Cyrus nodded and lifted a hand. All the data spinning around them shrunk down into a sphere that hung over the palm of his hand before it solidified and disappeared down into the ground. "I've locked the data up in my core."

"Good boy." Zero smiled before ejecting himself. Cyrus' arms were around him where he'd taken to holding him upright and he pulled back as he took out the cable to his data port. Cyrus gave him another warm hug before Zero closed his access panel and let the skin heal over it with a glow of light.

Zero grabbed his Force Lances and put them on either hip before leaving the room. "Andromeda?" He prompted and she appeared on a screen in front of him. "Can you prep my slip fighter?"

"Of course." She nodded. "We are now returning to Inari."

"Tell Dylan I'm going down to pick up Trance." Zero announced. "The locals weren't actually that welcoming of her. She's handled the situation but I'd rather pick her up now."

She nodded to him. "Dylan has given his authorisation."

Zero checked out the slip fighter briefly before launching out into space and turned down towards the planet, letting Dylan demand access for him.

Soon he was picking up Trance and on his way back. Somehow she'd walked right out of the place without trouble. "What did you see on the cameras, Zero?" Trance asked him from where she stood behind him. She'd strapped herself in for leaving the atmosphere but was now free to move around. Her hand settled onto his shoulder.

"Not much." Zero shook his head. "Cyrus saw everything though." He turned to look at her over his shoulder and saw her frown. "I don't care what he learnt. I trust you and I care about you. And Cyrus loves you like a real aunt. You're family to him. He's deleted all of the records the Inari hand on you and encrypted what he copied. It's now secure in his systems but I'm sure if you ask him to delete it or give it to you he will."

"He's not scared?" Trance checked.

"Whatever he learnt about you hasn't changed how he feels about you." Zero shrugged. "And I'm sure when we learn the truth it won't change how the rest of us feel either."

She squeezed his shoulder gently. "Trance?" Zero asked as he lined up to the Andromeda. "You know more than you ever let on, right?"

"Sometimes." She nodded.

"Do you know anything about me?" He asked. "Anything about light abominations and the visions?"

"There are many in the universe that perceive more than normal." She assured him. "But I do not know much more about you than you already know. You are an enigma. Out of place."

"You mean I shouldn't be here?" Zero twisted to look at her even as his slipfighter spun and slipped back into the launch tunnel and onto the cradle which pulled them back into position much slower than he'd been launched ten minutes earlier.

"You were not originally meant to be as you are at this precise moment in time." Trance told him. "But that doesn't mean you don't belong here."

"That made sense." He grinned back at her as he shut the fighter down.

"Have you ever met somebody like me?" Zero asked.

"You have a presence greater than most people." She told him softly. "A presence like I've only felt in one other person before."

"Who?" Zero frowned.

"I am drawn to all of you. You all have a part to play." She announced simply. "But only Dylan feels like you do."

"Dylan's more important than I am." Zero told him.

"Yet Harper and Cyrus both love you more than anything else in the universe." Trance smiled as he helped her climb out of the fighter.

"You always know exactly what to say to people, don't you?" Zero smiled at her.

"So do you." She laughed. "Visions or not."

Zero accepted her hug happily and soon he was going in search of Harper.

XOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOX

**Two weeks later**

Zero stretched a little as he woke and felt Harper's arms around him so stilled but was too late and Harper shifted his arms as he awoke. Somehow he'd managed to work himself so his back was against Harper's chest which meant Harper was up against the top of the bed to give him the support. Clearly they'd fallen asleep like this after sex and managed to not move through the night.

"I feel weird with you resting on my stomach." Harper told him softly.

"It doesn't bother me." Zero sighed knowing that Harper couldn't even look at his stomach without picturing Magog bursting out of it but Zero had no trouble seeing past that.

Zero lifted himself up off of Harper who shifted to lie flat on the bed. Zero lay himself out before reaching for Harper's medication on the bedside table. Harper dutifully took his dose but still grumbled about it even as Zero hung it around his neck and then kissed his chest. Harper had finally gotten over his depression about the Magog enough last night to be intimate with Zero and he looked far more alive today. It wasn't until afterwards that Harper had realised that Zero might have had an issue with Harper topping him after what had happened to him as a slave but there was nothing about Harper that reminded him of bad times.

"So peaceful without anyone around." Harper muttered to him.

"Except for four AI personalities." Zero laughed. "One of which probably spied on us last night."

"You think Cy would do that?" Harper laughed.

"He's curious." Zero shrugged and leaned down to kiss his lover firmly.

"I think he and Rommie are bored with everyone away." Harper laughed. The rest of the crew had taken the Maru in search of a woman called Isabella Ortiz who had formed a twenty-planet union that had been destroyed by the Kaldarens and was now in hiding. The Andromeda would be too obvious so Zero and Harper had been left in charge with Rommie and Cyrus while Dylan, Beka, Tyr and Trance went after her. The sudden emptiness of the corridors was rather heavy on them, especially with Rev being gone now that he'd gone on a mission to find himself but it had given them the privacy to be more intimate.

"Let's shower and then go find Cyrus." Zero announced. "He'll pout otherwise."

XOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOX

End Chapter


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